Chhattisgarh will go to polls on November 11
Tribal Welfare minister Kedar Kashyap, Sports minister Lata Usendi and Congress MLA Kawasi Lakhma were among the 42 candidates who filed their nomination papers today for the first phase of Legislative Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh today.
Eighteen Naxal-affected constituencies in south Chhattisgarh will go into polls on November 11, for which so far 63 nominations have been filed.
Today 42 nominations were filed for 16 constituencies in Bastar Division and Rajnandgaon district, Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Kujur told reporters this evening.
Prominent BJP leaders who filed papers today were: Kedar Kashyap (Narayanpur), Lata Usendi (Kondagaon) and sitting MLAs Santosh Bafna (Jagdalpur), Baiduram Kashyap (Chitrakot) and Sewakram Netam (Keshkal).
Congress leaders who filed the nominations today included Alka Mudliyar (Rajnandgaon) and sitting MLAs Kawasi Lakhma (Konta) and Bholaram Sahu (Khujji).
Kedar Kashyap had won from Narayanpur in 2008 against Congress's Rajnuram Netam by a margin of 21,635 votes. This time, the main opposition party has fielded Chandan Kashyap, a low-profile local leader, from the seat.
Lata Usendi had defeated Congressman Mohan Markam from Kondagon by 2,771 votes last time.
Congress has again given ticket to Markam from the seat.
Alka Mudliyar, wife of former MLA Uday Mudliyar who was killed in Bastar Maxal attack in May, is the Congress nominee from Rajnandgaon, which is currently represented by Chief Minister Raman Singh.
Singh had defeated Uday Mudliyar by 32,389 votes last time.
The only sitting Congress MLA from Bastar, Kawasi Lakhma, has been re-nominated from Konta.
Other Congress leaders who filed nominations today were: Girvar Janghel (Khairagarh), Thaneshwar Patila (Dongarhgarh), Lakheshwar Baghel (Bastar) and Vikram Mandavi (Bijapur).
Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader Satish Lathiya, who is the BJP's nominee from Bhanupratappur, also filed his nomination papers today.
Veteran CPI leader Manish Kunjam (Konta) and fellow party leaders Madnaiya Alwa (Bijapur), Sonadhar Nag (Chitrakot), Sheikh Naseem Kureshi (Jagdalpur), Amalsai Sodhi (Kondagaon), Balsingh Nag (Keshkal), Devchand Bhaskar (Kanker) filed papers today.
BSP candidates Paras Janghel (Khairagarh), Arvind Kumar (Rajnandgaon), Khagesh Thakur (Mohla-Manpur), Rajaram Komra (Antagarh), Komalsingh Korram (Bhanupratappur), Meera Markam (Kanker), Sonsai Netam (Keshkal), Ramkumar Markam (Kndagaon), Hemant Poyam (Chitrakot) too filed the nominations.