Chhattisgarh Election first phase voting today: From poll timings to key candidates | Here’s your guide

Chhattisgarh Assembly Election 2023: Voting for the first phase of the Chhattisgarh Election 2023 is set to be held today, November 7. Twenty of the 90 assembly seats will be voting in the first phase of polls. Over 40 lakh electors will vote across 5,304 polling stations in the first phase. Along with the 20 Chhattisgarh Assembly seats, the 40-member Mizoram assembly will also go to polls on Tuesday. The election results will be announced on December 3.

Which Chhattisgarh assembly constituencies will be voting on Tuesday, who are the key candidates, what are the key poll promises and issues in the state, what is the timing of voting in Chhattisgarh elections — Here's your complete guide to the first phase of the Chhattisgarh Elections.

ALSO READ: Five things to watch for in these Assembly polls

> When will the voting happen in first phase of Chhattisgarh polls?

The Chief Electoral Officer of Chhattisgarh said that the voting will take place in two slots. Ten assembly constituencies each will vote in these two separate slots. The first slot is from 8 am to 5 pm and the other slot is from 7 am to 3 am.

> Which assembly constituency will vote in which slot?

Most of the seats going to the polls in the first phase are in the Naxal affected belts. These include the districts of Bastar, Dantewada, Kanker, Kawardha and Rajnandgaon.

From 8 am to 5 pm: These ten assembly constituencies will vote:

1. Pandariya

2. Kawardha

3. Khairagarh

4. Dongargarh

5. Rajnandgaon

6. Dongargaon

7. Khujji

8. Jagdalpur

9. Chitrakoot

10: Bastar

From 7 am to 3pm: These ten assembly constituencies will vote:

1. Mohla-Manpur

2. Antagarh

3. Bhanupratappur

4. Konkar

5. Keshkal

6. Kondagaon

7. Narayanpur

8. Dantewada

9. Bijapur

10. Konta

> How many women and men voters are eligible in first phase?

According to the Election Commission's data, there are total, 40,78,689 electors eligible to vote in the first phase of the Chhattisgarh Election 2023.

ALSO READ: Election temple run: Rahul Gandhi offers prayers at Kedarnath temple, Modi at Chhattisgarh’s Maa Bamleshwari temple

The women voters in the state outnumbered the male voter. Of these 40 lakh people, over 19 lakh (19,93,936) are men and over 20 lakh (20,84,675) are women. As many as 69 identified themselves as third gender.

As many as (1.6 lakh) 1,64,299 people are first time voters and are aged between 18 and 19 years.

> Who are the key players in Chhattisgarh polls?

The Chhattisgarh elections are likely to witness a tough battle between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The state is currently governed by the Congress under Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

ALSO READ: PM Modi says poor is only caste in India; 'Then why does he identify himself as OBC,' asks Rahul Gandhi

> Key seats and candidates in first phase of Chhattisgarh Election?

There are a total of 223 candidates, including 25 women, in fray for 20 seats. In this phase, 13 of the 20 seats are reserved for SC/STs. In 2023, the Congress has replaced six of the sitting MLAs in this phase.

1. Rajnandgaon: Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh is contesting from his seat of Rajnandgaon. He will fight the polls against Congress leader Giris Devangan, who is the chairman of the State Mineral Development Corporation. Raman Singh has retained the seat since 2008.

ALSO READ: Chhattisgarh election diary: PM Modi visits Dongargarh temples, meets Jain seer; Congress releases manifesto

2. Konta: Chhattisgarh minister Kawasi Lakhma is in the fray from Konta. He had won the seat in the 2018 and 2013 polls. The BJP has fieled Soyam Muka from his seat. According to reports, this is the first time that Suka will be contesting elections. The Konta seat has been a stronghold of the Congress for over 20 years.

3. Kondagaon: Sitting MLA and former state Congress president Mohan Markam is in fray against BJP new state vice-president Lata Usendi.

4. Bahnupratappur: The wife of late MLA Manoj Mandavi, Savita Mandavi, will be contesting from this assembly constituency.

5. Chitrakoot: BJP's Vinayak Goyal is up against Chhattisgarh Congress president and MP Deepak Baij.

6: Kawardha: As many as 16 candidates are fighting for this seat, Jagran reported. Congress MLA Mohammad Akbar, who is the Minister of Transport in the Bhupesh Baghel government, is in the fray against BJP's Vijay Sharma.

7: Keshkal: While the Congress has fieled assembly deputy speaker and two-time MLA Santram Netam, the BJP has fielded former IAS officer Neelkanth Tekam.

8. Narayanpur: BJP heavyweight and former minister Kedar Kashyap is contesting against Chandan Kashyap. Kedar Kashyap won this seat in 2013, but he lost it in 2018 to Chandan Kashyap.

> What Congress has promised in poll manifesto

Congress, the incumbent ruling party in poll-bound Chhattisgarh, has promised to undertake a caste-based census, provide another farm loan waiver and grant free electricity up to 200 units. The manifesto also states that the Congress government, if re-elected to power, would provide a subsidy of ₹500 on cooking gas cylinders to women.

Click here to read details of the Congress's poll manifesto

> What BJP has promised in poll manifesto

The BJP's manifesto highlights filling one lakh vacant government posts in Chhattisgarh in two years and taking people of the state on a visit to Ram temple, which is being constructed in Ayodhya.

It also promised yearly financial assistance to married women and landless agriculture labourers, paddy procurement at ₹3,100 per quintal and cooking gas cylinder at ₹500 to poor families.

Click here to read details of the BJP's poll manifesto

> What are key issues in Chhattisgarh

1. Corruption: The BJP in Chhattisgarh has levelled corruption charges against the Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel's government. The part has used the Mahadev betting app cases to take on the Congress in this elections. BJP president JP Nadda accused the Congress of indulging in corruption, loot and dynastic politics.

The state saw raids by the Enforcement Directorate, the CBI and the Income Tax Department over alleged corruption in coal mining, excise policy, and procurement of cow dung.

2. Farmers’ issues: In an interview with PTI, CM Baghel said farmers were the “biggest factor” followed by women, youth and business people who would help the Congress secure 75-plus seats in the 90-member house". The Congress promised loan waiver to farmers and said the state government will procure paddy at ₹3,200 per quintal once it retains power in Chhattisgarh.

3. Tribal issue: According to reports, the Congress will be tested in tribal areas as the BJP tries to bridge gap. At present, the ruling Congress presently has all seats in tribal-dominated Surguja and Bastar regions, the Hindustan Times reported.

However, experts were quoted as saying the Congress appears electorally weak in comparison to the 2018 elections in the northern and southern regions especially in the tribal areas of the state.

Meanwhile, the Times of India reported that the BJP has been expressing displeasure over religious conversion and the rift between Christians and non-Christian tribals reported mostly from the Bastar division.

4. Naxalism: The violence by Naxals is another issue gripping the state.

What happened in last election?

In the 2018 Chhattisgarh election, the Congress won 17 of the 20 seats that will go to the polls in Phase 1. The BJP had won 2 seats, while Ajit Jogi's party, the Janta Congress Chhattisgarh, had won 1 seat. In all, the Congress had stormed to the hustings in Chhattisgarh in the 2018 elections, winning 68 of the 90 seats and hogging 43.9 per cent of the total votes polled.