New Delhi: The first phase of the Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections 2023 kicked off on Tuesday, with 20 out of 90 seats going to polls. More than 40 lakh voters, including 19,93,937 male, 20,84,675 female and 69 third-gender persons, will cast their ballots across 5,304 polling stations.
The polling hours are 7am to 3pm for 10 seats in the Naxal-affected Bastar region, namely Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Konta. The remaining 10 seats, namely Khairagarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Pandariya, Kawardha, Bastar, Jagdalpur and Chitrakot, will see voting from 8am to 5pm.
The first phase will seal the fate of 223 candidates, including 25 women, who are in the fray. The state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said that 25,429 polling personnel have been deployed for the first phase of polls. He said that 156 poll parties have been airlifted to five districts in the Bastar region, while 5,148 polling teams have been sent by buses to their respective booths. He also said that web casting facility will be available in 2431 booths.
A senior police official said that 60,000 security personnel, including 40,000 from Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), have been stationed for smooth conduct of polls in 12 seats of the Bastar region, which is prone to Naxal violence. Of the 20 seats, 12 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes and one for the Scheduled Caste category. The highest number of contestants is in Rajnandgaon constituency (29) while the lowest number of candidates is seven each in Chitrakot and Dantewada seats.
The main contenders for power are the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP, with the Aam Aadmi Party and some Independents also in the race. The Congress has 19 of these 20 seats, including two it won in bypolls. In the 2018 Assembly polls, the Congress had won 17 of these 20 seats, the BJP two and the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh one.
The Congress is banking on the popularity of its Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who has implemented several welfare schemes for farmers, women, tribals and Dalits, and has promised to waive farm loans if re-elected. The Congress has also accused the BJP-led Centre of “handing over” resources to “industrialist friends” and of threatening the culture and identity of the people.
The BJP is hoping to regain power after losing in 2018, and has highlighted its promise of development and welfare, and its efforts to bridge the gap between the northeast and the rest of the country. The BJP has also attacked Baghel over the alleged Mahadev betting app scam, and has raised issues of religious conversion, law and order and corruption. The BJP has also told the voters that their party’s promises are “Modi’s guarantees”.
Some of the prominent candidates in the first phase are Chhattisgarh Congress chief and MP Deepak Baij (Chitrakot), ministers Kawasi Lakhma (Konta), Mohan Markam (Kondagaon) and Mohammad Akbar (Kawardha) as well as Chhavindra Karma (Dantewada), who is the son of late leader Mahendra Karma, from the Congress.
For the BJP, former chief minister Raman Singh is contesting from Ranjangaon against the Congress’ Girish Dewangan, chairman of Chhattisgarh State Mineral Development Corporation. Other notable faces from the BJP include four former ministers Lata Usendi (Kondagaon seat), Vikram Usendi (Antagarh), Kedar Kashyap (Narayanpur) and Mahesh Gagda (Bijapur), as well as former IAS officer Neelkanth Tekam from Keshkal.
The Aam Aadmi Party’s state unit chief Komal Hupendi will contest from Bhanupratappur seat, while MLA Anup Nag, after being denied a ticket by the Congress, is fighting as an Independent from Antagarh seat.