Lok Sabha elections: BJP drops all 10 sitting MPs from Chhattisgarh, to field fresh candidates

Lok Sabha elections will begin on April 11 and continue for over a month till May 19 across seven phases, followed by counting of votes on May 23. Elections in Chhattisgarh will be held in three phases on April 11, 18 and 23.

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NEW DELHI: The BJP on Tuesday decided to drop all its 10 sitting MPs from Chhattisgarh and field new candiadtes in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The decision comes in the wake of the party's drubbing in recent assembly elections. BJP General Secretary Anil Jain, who is also in charge of the state, said the party has decided to face the Lok Sabha elections with "new candidates and fresh energy" to make it victorious under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Jain said the state BJP made the proposal to drop the MPs to the central election committee of the party, which gave its nod. The BJP is also considering not to field any family member of these sitting MPs, sources said. If the party indeed adopts this criterion, the likely candidature of former chief minister Raman Singh, whose son Abhishek Singh is a sitting Member of Parliament, will also be in question. "We have decided to fight the elections with new candidates and new zeal," Jain told reporters. We will bring 11 new candidates and win on all 11 seats, he said. The state sends 11 MPs to the Lok Sabha. Polls for 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh will be held in three phases on April 11, 18 and 23. Naxal-hit Bastar (ST) constituency will be the only seat that will go to polls on April 11. Polls to Kanker (ST), Rajnandgaon and Mahasamund seats will be held on April 18 in the second phase. The remaining seven Lok Sabha seats - Surguja (ST), Raigarh (ST), Janjgir-Champa (SC), Raipur, Durg, Korba and Bilaspur will witness polling on April 23. The state has 1,89,16,285 voters, comprising 94,77,113 men, 94,38,463 women and 709 third-gender persons. The number of voters between 18-19 years of age are 4,60,394 in the state. The state has 23,727 polling booths, of which 5,625 are in critical areas.     The state has total 15,758 service voters. During 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the state had a total of 1,76,64,520 voters.  Summary of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Chhattisgarh Total No. of Lok Sabha seats: 11 No. of seats won by BJP -10 No. of seats won by Congress - 1 Summary of the 2009 Lok Sabha elections in Chhattisgarh No. of Lok Sabha seats: 11 No of seats won by BJP -10 No of seats won by Congress - 1 Summary of the 2018 State Assembly elections No of Assembly seats: 90 Congress Won -  68 BJP Won - 15 Janata Congress Chhattisgarh ( JCC) - 5 Bahaujan Samaj Party - 2 Key leaders: Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Congress leader and home minister Tamrdhewaj Sahu, former CM and BJP leader Raman Singh, former minister and BJP leader: Brijmohan Agarwal, Janata Congress chief and former CM Ajit Jogi. (With inputs from PTI)