New Delhi: The second and final phase of the Chhattisgarh assembly elections will be held today for 70 seats of the 90-member house. The voters will have to choose from 958 candidates across 18,800 polling stations in the state. One of the most interesting contests is in Patan, where Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel of the Congress is challenged by his nephew Vijay Baghel of the BJP and Amit Jogi of the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh. Amit Jogi is the son of former chief minister Ajit Jogi, who passed away last year.
Some of the other key constituencies that will witness close fights are:
Ambikapur: Deputy Chief Minister TS Singh Deo of the Congress is seeking re-election from this seat, where he faces Rajesh Agrawal of the BJP, a former Congress leader. Deo has won this seat three times since 2008.
Sakti: Assembly Speaker Charan Das Mahant of the Congress is up against Khilawan Sahu of the BJP. Mahant has a strong record of winning this seat three times as an MLA and three times as an MP.
Raipur City South: Former home minister Brij Mohan Agrawal of the BJP is trying to make a comeback from this seat, where he faces Mahant Ram Sundar of the Congress.
Lormi: BJP state president and MP Arun Rao is contesting from this seat against Thaneshwar Sahu of the Congress.
Korba: Revenue Minister Jai Singh Agrawal of the Congress is defending this seat against BJP vice president Lakhanlal Dewangan.
Bharatpur-Sonhat: Union Minister and MP Renuka Singh of the BJP is in the fray from this seat, where she faces Gulab Singh Kamro of the Congress.
The polling will start at 8 am and end at 5 pm, except for nine polling stations of Bindranavagarh constituency, where it will end at 3 pm. The first phase of the election for 20 seats was held on November 7. The results of the election will be announced on December 3.