Chhattisgarh Polls: In Final List Of Candidates, Congress Denies Ticket To 4 Sitting MLAs

Chhattisgarh Elections 2023: With its third list, the ruling Congress party in the state has declared for all the 90 assembly seats, resulting in the replacement of 18 incumbent legislators.

In preparation for the upcoming Chhattisgarh assembly elections, the Congress party has unveiled its third list of candidates. This announcement includes candidates for the remaining seven seats, a mix of renominations and fresh faces. Notably, four incumbent legislators have been denied tickets. With this latest list, the ruling party has now presented its candidates for all 90 assembly constituencies in the state. The elections are scheduled to take place in two phases, on November 7 and 17, with the results to be revealed on December 3.

The newly revealed candidates are as follows:

1. Baikunthpur - Ambica Singh Deo
2. Saraipali - SC - Chaturi Nand
3. Mahasamund - Dr. Rashmi Chandrakar
4. Kasdol - Sandeep Sahu
5. Raipur City North - Kuldeep Juneja
6. Sihawa - ST - Ambika Markam
7. Dhamtari - Omkar Sahu

Among the seven seats, one is reserved for the Scheduled Tribe and another for the Scheduled Caste categories. The remaining five general seats have candidates from the Other Backward Class (OBC). Significantly, the Congress has designated four women candidates in this list, which includes a sitting MLA.

The list features the re-nomination of Ambica Singh Deo and Kuldeep Juneja, who will contest from their existing seats, Baikunthpur and Raipur North, respectively. However, four sitting legislators have been replaced with new faces.

Chaturi Nand will represent Saraipali-SC, Ambika Markam in Sihwaha, Sandeep Sahu in Kasdol, and Rashmi Chandrakar in Mahasamund. Omkar Sahu has been nominated for the Dhamtari seat, which the party couldn't secure in the 2018 elections. Among these five candidates, only Ambika Markam has prior experience as an ex-MLA.

The Congress has maintained diversity in its candidate selection, with 33 candidates from Scheduled Tribes (ST), 29 from the Other Backward Class (OBC), 10 from Scheduled Castes (SC), and 15 from the general categories. Additionally, three candidates belong to minority communities.

Notably, the Congress has refrained from fielding 22 of its sitting MLAs out of the total 71. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already declared its candidates for 86 seats in the upcoming elections.

In the previous 2018 elections, the Congress secured a resounding victory, capturing 68 seats and forming a comfortable government. The BJP's tally dwindled to 15 seats, while the JCC (J) and the BSP won 5 and 2 seats, respectively. Presently, the Congress holds 71 seats in the assembly. Party leaders have set their sights on a goal of winning 75 seats in the forthcoming elections.