The second and final phase of the Chhattisgarh assembly elections is scheduled to take place on Friday. This phase will decide the electoral fate of several political heavyweights, including Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and his deputy T.S. Singh Deo. Additionally, eight State Ministers and four members of Parliament are also in the running.
A total of 958 candidates, including 827 men, 130 women, and one transgender person, are contesting for the remaining 70 seats. These seats are spread across 22 districts in Chhattisgarh. Registered voters eligible to exercise their franchise in this phase number at 1,63,14,479, with 81,41,624 men, 81,72,171 women, and 684 of the third gender.
Both the Congress and BJP have fielded prominent candidates for this phase. Chief Minister Baghel is contesting from the Patan seat, while his deputy T.S. Singh Deo is running from Ambikapur. Other notable Congress candidates in the second phase include Assembly Speaker Charan Das Mahant, Tamrdhwaj Sahu, and Ravindra Choubey. From the BJP, key candidates include State unit chief Arun Sao, Leader of Opposition Narayan Chandel, Union Minister Renuka Singh, and former ministers Brijmohan Agrawal, Ajay Chandrakar, and Punnulal Mohile.
The second phase of the Chhattisgarh assembly elections will be crucial in determining the future political landscape of the state. Voters will exercise their franchise at 18,833 polling booths spread across Chhattisgarh on November 17.
