RAIPUR: The election campaign in the poll-bound state of Chhattisgarh came to an end on Saturday. The first phase of assembly polls will see voting in 18 seats spread over eight Naxal-affected districts in the state.
The remaining 72 seats of Chhattisgarh assembly will go to vote on November 20 as part of a multi-phased voting across five states that also include neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram.
Polling in 10 assembly constituencies Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Konta will start at 7 am to 3 pm.
In the other eight assembly seats Khairgarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Bastar, Jagdalpur and Chitrakot the polling time will be 8 am to 5 pm.
A total of 190 candidates, including Chief Minister Raman Singh from Rajnandgaon, are contesting in this phase. The BJP had lost 12 of these 18 seats in the last polls in 2013.
The Naxalites have called for a boycott of polls in the state and have executed half a dozen attacks in last 15 days, three of them major ones which left 13 people dead including a cameraperson of national Doordarshan who was covering the election campaign.
The Naxalities are not just against the elections. They have put up posters, directly threatening people against voting for the BJP.Jogi is not contesting the elections himself, preferring to campaign for his third front.
BJP President Amit Shah on Saturday released his party’s manifesto for the upcoming elections. Launching a scathing attack at Congress, Shah said that a party that sees revolution in Naxalism can do no good for Chhattisgarh.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi also released his party’s manifesto ahead of the polls. In the manifesto, named as “People’s Manifesto”, the Congress has promised immediate loan waivers within 10 days of being voted to power.
While Chhattisgarh has traditionally seen a straight fight between the BJP and the Congress, this time a third front comprising Ajit Jogi’s Janata Congress Chhattisgarh, Mayawati’s BSP and the CPI is also in the fray.
