Raipur: Polling will be held in seven Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh in the third and last phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state Tuesday, officials said.
As many as 123 candidates are in the fray.
Around 60,000 security personnel, including paramilitary and state forces, have been deployed in the state.
Altogether 15,408 polling booths have been set up for voters in the seven seats Raipur, Durg, Bilaspur, Korba, Janjgir-Champa (SC), Surguja (ST) and Raigarh (ST)- where the main fight will be between the ruling Congress and the BJP which lost power in last year’s state Assembly polls.
Raipur and Bilaspur seats have the maximum number of candidates (25), followed by Durg-21, Jangir-Champa – 15, Raigarh -14, Korba-13 and Surguja-10.
Altogether 1,27,13,816 voters, including 64,16,252 men, 62,96,992 women and 572 members of the third gender, are eligible to exercise their franchise.
Voting for the 11 Lok Sabha seats in the state was scheduled in three phases.
The Naxal-hit Bastar (ST) constituency went to polls in the first phase on April 11, while voting in three other seats – Rajanandgaon, Kanker (ST) and Mahasamund – was held in the second phase April 18.
In the 2004, 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha polls held after the formation of Chhattisgarh, the BJP won 10 out of the 11 seats every time.
This time, the Congress, buoyed by its victory in the Assembly elections last year, is hoping to improve its tally in the state.
In the high-profile Durg seat, the Congress has fielded its former MLA Pratima Chandrakar, who belongs to the influential Kurmi OBC community.
Durg is the only Lok Sabha seat which the Congress won in the state in the 2014 general elections.
After the Congress’ win in the last year’s Assembly polls, its Durg MP Tamradhwaj Sahu was inducted into the state cabinet as home minister.
The BJP has fielded its former MLA Vijay Baghel, who also belongs to the Kurmi community, in Durg.
In Raipur seat, the BJP has fielded Sunil Soni, vice president of the state unit, while denying ticket to seven- term MP Ramesh Bais.
Soni is pitted against Congress’ Pramod Dubey, the mayor of the Raipur Municipal Corporation.
In the tribal-dominated Raigarh seat, the BJP denied renomination to its MP and Union minister Vishnu Deo Sai, and fielded Gomtee Sai. The Congress has pinned its hopes on sitting party MLA Laljeet Singh Rathiya.
In Surguja (ST), the BJP chose former MLA and minister Renuka Singh, who is pitted against Congress legislator and prominent tribal leader Khelsai Singh.
The Congress has fielded Jyotsana Mahant, wife of incumbent state Assembly speaker Charandas Mahant in Korba seat, while the BJP has pinned its hopes on a fresh face, Jyotinand Dubey.
In Bilaspur, the Congress has nominated its state unit general secretary Atal Shrivastav, who is locked in a battle with BJP’s Arun Sao.
The Janjgir-Champa seat, reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates, is likely to witness a triangular fight among Congress’ Ravi Bhardwaj, BJP nominee Guharam Ajgale and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Dauram Ratnankar.
The Mayawti-led party and it ally Janata Congress Chhattigsarh (J) of former chief minister Ajit Jogi have been focusing on this seat.
Jogi’s party has not fielded any candidate for the Lok Sabha polls and is supporting BSP’s nominees in all seats of the state.
PTI