Chhattisgarh polls: Voting for remaining 10 seats begins amid tight security

RAIPUR: Voting for the first phase of the Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections began for the remaining assembly constituencies, which include Pandaria, Kawardha, Khairagarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Bastar, Jagdalpur, and Chitrakote. The voting process began at 8 am amid tight security and will continue until 5 pm.

Meanwhile, the voters queued up outside a polling booth in Kondagaon to cast their vote in the first phase of Assembly elections.

A first-time voter, Anisha said that she expected all our issues to be resolved in the state. "We expect all our issues to be resolved...Many a time candidates say that they will resolve the issues but leave (after elections) to not be seen anywhere," she told ANI while standing in a queue at the Kondagaon polling booth on Tuesday.

Kondagaon sees a contest between former Minister Lata Usendi of the BJP and sitting Congress MLA Mohan Markam. The Congress candidate is hopeful of regaining his seat.

"I am confident that I will win for the third time from Kondagaon. BJP cannot compete with Congress in Chhattisgarh, that is why they are using ED...." Mohan Markam said after casting his vote. The polling started at 7 a.m. for ten seats, which include Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Konta.

 The state of Chhattisgarh is undergoing elections in two phases, with the second phase scheduled for November 17. 20 constituencies in Chhattisgarh, which has a 90-member house, are set for the polls on Tuesday, including 12 from the Bastar division.

There are a total of 223 candidates in the fray for 20 seats. 5304 voting booths have been set up by the election commission for this phase. There are 40 lakh, 78 thousand, and 681 voters in this phase. Of these, there are 19 lakh, 93 thousand, 937 male voters and 20 lakh, 84 thousand, 675 female voters.

In this phase 13 of the 20 seats are reserved for SC/STs. Overall, in the state, 29 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and 10 seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs).

Notable figures such as former Chief Minister Raman Singh is seeking re-election from his seat in Rajnandgaon, and State Minister Kawasi Lakhma, who is running again from Konta, where he the sitting MLA. In 2018, the Congress won 17 of the 20 seats that will go to the polls in Phase 1.

BJP had won two seats, while Ajit Jogi's party had won one. The counting of votes is scheduled for December 3.