Chhattisgarh Polls: BSP Announces 2nd List of 17 Candidates. Know Names For Rampur, Bastar, Bijapur

Chhattisgarh Election 2023: The BSP is entering the electoral arena in collaboration with the Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP), adhering to a seat-sharing agreement.

File Photo of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati

Source : PTI

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), led by Mayawati, has unveiled its second list of candidates for the upcoming Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, bringing the total number of declared candidates to 26. This announcement was made by a senior party official on Tuesday, news agency PTI reported. The Chhattisgarh Assembly elections are set to take place in two phases on November 7 and 17, with a total of 90 seats up for grabs.

The BSP is entering the electoral arena in collaboration with the Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP), adhering to a seat-sharing agreement. According to this arrangement, the BSP will field candidates in 53 constituencies, while the GGP will contest 37 seats.

In line with the directives of BSP chief Mayawati, the second list of 17 candidates has been revealed, which includes one female candidate. Hemant Poyam, President of the BSP's Madhya Pradesh unit, informed PTI of this development.

Within this list of 17 candidates, nine are designated for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, and three for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates, emphasizing the party's commitment to diverse representation.

The BSP had previously disclosed its initial list of nine candidates back in August, preceding the official announcement of the election schedule by the Election Commission.

The recently unveiled candidates include:

1. Narendra Sahu (Bhatgaon seat)
2. Innocent Kujur (Pathalgaon - ST)
3. Narayan Ratnakar (Sarangarh – SC)
4. Satyawati Rathiya (Dharamjaigarh - ST)
5. Jagatram Rathiya (Rampur - ST)
6. Jainarayan Kishore (Saraipali - SC)
7. Sufal Sahu (Khallari)
8. Lalchand Patel (Kurud)
9. Chaitram Raj (Pandariya)
10. Bahadur Kurre (Dongargarh - SC)
11. Jalam Singh Jurri (Bhanupratappur - ST)
12. Dinesh Kumar Markam (Keshkal - ST)
13. Girdhar Netam (Kondagaon - ST)
14. Ramdhar Baghel (Bastar - ST)
15. Sampat Kashyap (Jagdalpur)
16. Ajay Kudiyam (Bijapur - ST)
17. Masa Madkami (Konta)

In the 2018 elections, the BSP secured 4.27% of the votes and clinched two seats, namely Jaijaipur and Pamgarh. During that election, the party was in alliance with the Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (J) and the CPI. The JCC (J) managed to secure five seats, but the GGP candidates faced a significant setback, losing their deposits in 36 out of the 38 seats they contested.

The BSP holds considerable influence among the Scheduled Caste population in central Chhattisgarh, while the GGP has historically had a support base in specific tribal-dominated areas within the Bilaspur and Surguja divisions.elec