Chhattisgarh Election 2023 Highlights: Voting concludes for 20 seats, 70.87 percent voter turnout till 5pm

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi blamed the incumbent government ruled by the Congress for neglecting the poor and Adivasis and making laws to cater for the people who could speak in English. While attending the rally in Surjapur, Chhattisgarh, PM Modi thanked the audience for their presence, he said, "It's a heart-touching moment for me that I am addressing such a big rally and you all have turned out in large numbers at this time of morning. I can't thank you enough for coming."

Three security personnel injured in an exchange of fire with Maoists near Minpa in Sukma district. Earlier in the morning, a jawan of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was injured in an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) blast orchestrated by Maoists in Sukma district, police said. The injured jawan was deployed for election duty at the time of the attack.

Three security personnel injured in an exchange of fire with Maoists near Minpa in Sukma district. Earlier in the morning, a jawan of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was injured in an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) blast orchestrated by Maoists in Sukma district, police said. The injured jawan was deployed for election duty at the time of the attack.

Maoists shot and hacked to death the Narayanpur district BJP vice-president in full public view last weekend. Ratan Dubey is the second BJP leader to be killed in Bastar in two weeks, and the seventh this year. One of the earlier victims was Dubey’s predecessor in the same post in the Narayanpur BJP unit, Sagar Sahu, who was murdered in February this year.

"We are fighting the elections on the basis of development and the work we have done from 2018 to 2023," says Congress leader and Chhattisgarh minister Mohammad Akbar while visiting a polling booth in Kawardha.

Mohammad Akbar is one of the key players and the sole Muslim candidate in the Chhattisgarh assembly elections. He is contesting from the Kawardha assembly constituency, where he emerged victorious in 2018 against the BJP's Ashok Sahu, despite the seat having a significant Sahu population.

"They (ED, IT) will take a short break. After November 17, they will take a break. They also have a family. Before Lok Sabha (elections), they will again come back," said Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel.

A clash broke out between the Special Task Force (STF) and Maoists in the forest area near Orchha police station. STF personnel are safe as Maoists fled amid the encounter. The area is being searched. The viral information circulating on social media about polling booths being gheraoed by the Maoists is wrong.

Women voters outnumber men in 16 out of the 20 assembly constituencies where polling is being held in the first phase on Tuesday in Chhattisgarh, as per officials. The total number of voters in the 20 constituencies are 40,78,681, comprising 19,93,937 men, 20,84,675 women and 69 third-gender persons, official said. "In 16 seats, namely Mohla-Manpur, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, Konta, Rajnandgaon, Khujji, Pandariya, Kawardha, Bastar, Jagdalpur and Chitrakot, there are more women voters than men," a poll official said.

Chhattisgarh has only seen three chief ministers till now since it became its own separate state only in 2000 with the late Ajit Jogi as its first CM. However, Jogi held the office from November 2000 to December 2003 after which Raman Singh took over.

"He (Raman Singh) is not going to save his own seat. We had won 17 seats out of 20 last time, this time we will win 18 or 19 seats," says Chhattisgarh CM
Bhupesh Baghel on Singh's statement that his party will win 14 out of 20 seats where voting is being held in the first phase of elections on Tuesday.

In a rally in Bishrampur, PM Narendra Modi pitched for education in technical fields such engineering, in students’ mother tongue for better understanding. “Engineer banne ke liye angrezi zaroori hai kya (Is English necessary to become an engineer)?” he said.

Unlike Congress which is led from the front by Bhupesh Baghel who has to contend with senior leaders like TS Singhdeo, Tamradhwaj Sahu, Charandas Mahant and Mohan Markam who are breathing down his neck as CM contenders, BJP's post-Raman Singh leadership has failed to rise to the occasion since 2018 and project themselves as chief ministers in the making.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today reached Chhattisgarh where he will address a rally ahead of the second phase of assembly election. The second phase is on Nov 17

Voting is on in the naxal-affected Karigundam area in Chhattisgarh after 23 years. Karigundam is part of the Dantewada (ST) constituency. Dantewada was won by the BJP’s Bhima Mandavi in 2018

The BJP leader and former Chhattisgarh CM said his party will win a minimum of 14 seats in the first phase, adding that the BJP will form the government with a complete majority.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday reiterated the party's "guarantees" to the people and called for the return of its "trustworthy" government in the state. Gandhi said, "When you exercise your franchise, remember, Congress' trustworthy government once again in Chhattisgarh." Whatever we promise, we deliver, the former Congress president asserted.

Nearly 10 per cent turnout was recorded till 9.30 am in 20 constituencies in the first phase of Chhattisgarh assembly elections. Polling began at 7 am in 10 of the 20 assembly constituencies. It will end at 3 pm.

Chhattisgarh has a history of tight contests. In 2003, 2008 and 2013 BJP's voteshare difference with Congress varied between 0.5 and 2.5 percentage points. It was only in 2018 that the state saw a sweep because of 15 years of anti-incumbency against BJP. So are we going to see a return to the earlier Chhattisgarh model of neck-and-neck elections?

Among the 20 seats which are going for elections in the first phase, only one sitting Congress MLA denied the ticket has rebelled. Anup Nag, MLA from Bastar's Antagarh Seat, has filed his nomination independently. He was subsequently expelled from the party. Note that Congress had denied tickets to 22 sitting MLAs in all

Among the 20 seats going to polls today, the Bastar division accounting for 12 seats is being keenly watched. Last time Congress won 11 out of 12 seats here, and the 12th seat too in a bypoll. But this time there is a stiff contest between BJP and Congress.

Dantewada features new faces from both Congress and the BJP. The Congress has picked Chhavindra Karma, the son of the late Mahendra Karma, as their candidate, while the BJP has nominated Chetaram Atami. AAP is also competing for votes, making it a closely contested race.

Of the Bastar region’s 12 seats, 11 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes, while the Jagdalpur seat is unreserved. Interestingly, both the candidates for the Jagdalpur seat from the Congress and the BJP are first timers in assembly elections, but both have served as Mayor of Jagdalpur.

-- The state CM made his political debut in 1990 as Congress's district youth president
-- He was elected to the Legislative Assembly for the first time in 1993
-- He won the assembly elections four more times in 1998, 2003, 2013 and 2018
-- He has held several ministerial posts, including the Minister of Transport in Madhya Pradesh, Minister of Revenue Rehabilitation in Chhattisgarh, Member of the Business Advisory Committee and Member of the Public Accounts Committee between 1999 and 2015.

Bhupesh Baghel is contesting from his traditional seat in Chhattisgarh's Durg district. Patan is in the state's central region and is among the Congress' strongholds.

An officer from the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) unit of Central Reserve Police Force was injured in an IED blast in Elmagunda, Sukma district. On Monday, a BSF jawan and two polling party workers suffered injuries in an IED blast in Kanker. Another IED was diffused in Narayanpur.

The BJP, in its campaign, has been raking up corruption charges against the CM. In a rally in Durg last Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took aim at Baghel and the Congress government in the state, saying “they have not even spared the name of Mahadev”, referring to the claims made by the ED that the CM had allegedly received Rs 508 crore kickbacks from the promoters of the Mahadev app, an online betting platform.

Unemployment is a key issue amid concerns that government jobs are not getting filled and outsiders being reportedly chosen over locals.

-- Polling started at 7 am in 10 of the 20 constituencies in the first phase. It will end at 3 pm.
-- Polling in the remaining 10 seats in the first phase will start at 8 am and end at 5 pm
- First phase has 20 of 90 assembly seats. 223 candidates, including 25 women, are in the fray and as per electoral rolls, 40,78,681 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise.

Congress has vowed to conduct a caste census if it regains power. Both parties are trying to court OBCs, which form a reported 43.5 per cent population in the state.

BJP vice president Raman Singh has written a letter to PM Narendra Modi, calling for a CBI investigation into the alleged Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC) selection scam. The state has seen raids by central agencies including the Enforcement Directorate, CBI and the Income Tax Department over alleged corruption in coal mining, excise policy, and procurement of cow dung. Modi has also raised the Mahadev betting app row in his poll campaigning in the state.

Farmers’ issues can play a key role as Chhattisgarh. In an interview with PTI, CM Baghel said farmers were the “biggest factor” followed by women, youth and businesspeople who would help the Congress secure 75-plus seats in the 90-member House.
The Congress government has tried to woo the nearly 38 lakh-strong farmer population through its schemes under the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana and the recent paddy procurement at minimum support price (MSP). The Baghel government also fulfilled its 2018 promise and waived farmers’ loans soon after coming to power.

Congress has fielded Chhattisgarh deputy CM TS Singhdeo from Ambikapur, a tribal-dominated seat in north Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district. Belonging to an erstwhile royal family, Singhdeo has won this seat thrice – in 2008, 2013, and 2018. He is facing BJP’s Rajesh Agarwal this time.

While Congress and BJP are top contenders, Aam Aadmi Party is all geared up to debut in the state. In 2018, Congress swept Chhattisgarh, bagging 68 of the 90 seats with BJP securing a distant second position with 15 seats in its kitty.

Voting will be held between 7 am and 3 pm in 10 seats of Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Konta, they said. Votes will be cast between 8am and 5pm in Khairagarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Pandariya and Kawardha Bastar, Jagdalpur and Chitrakot

-- 21 quintals of paddy per acre at Rs 3,100 in a single instalment
-- An annual amount of Rs 12,000 for married women
-- To fill one lakh vacant posts in government
-- 18 lakh poor people to get Awas Yojna (housing scheme) benefits
-- Tendu leaves will be bought for Rs 5,500 per sack
-- Rs 10,000 to landless farmers
-- Promise of free health service up to Rs 10 lakh and 500 more centres for subsidised medicines.
-- To probe alleged Public Service Commission (PSC) scam. Another promise is to change the examination to a UPSC format.
-- Gas cylinder for Rs 500

A day ahead of voting, two polling agents and a BSF jawan were injured in an IED blast believed to have been triggered by Naxalites near Rengaghati polling station in Kanker district of Bastar.

Raman Singh -- the former Chhattisgarh CM is contesting from Rajnandgaon, which he has retained since 2008. Singh is contesting against Congress leader Giris Devangan.
Kawasi Lakhma -- Chhattisgarh minister and Congress leader Kawasi Lakhma is in the fray from the Konta seat. He had won the seat in the 2018 and 2013 polls. The BJP has fielded Soyam Muka against Lakhma from this seat.
Vinayak Goyal: BJP’s Vinayak Goyal is up against Chhattisgarh Congress president and MP Deepak Baij from Chitrakoot seat.
Mohammad Akbar: Congress MLA Mohammad Akbar, who is the Minister of Transport in the Bhupesh Baghel government, is one of the key players in the fray against BJP’s Vijay Sharma from the Kawardha constituency.

-- Loan waiver
-- Better paddy prices
-- Free education for students up to post-graduation level
-- Sellers of tendu leaves, mostly tribals, to get Rs 6,000 per sack while the BJP manifesto promised Rs 5,500 for one sack.
-- Subsidy of Rs 500 on gas cylinder refills and the amount to be sent directly to an individual’s bank account
-- Rs 10,000 to landless farmers
-- Free treatment for poor people up to Rs 10 lakh
-- Free treatment for accident victims
-- Free wood supply for completing last rites in cities
-- 50 per cent subsidy on loans given to youngsters for starting businesses.

Congress has also promised a subsidy of Rs 500 on gas cylinder refills and the amount would be sent directly to an individual’s bank account while the BJP has promised gas cylinders for Rs 500 to women from poor families.

Congress has promised loan waiver, better paddy prices, free education for students up to post-graduation level. Farm loan waiver and higher price for paddy procurement are credited for the massive Congress victory in the last Assembly elections.

Of the 90 Congress candidates, 33 belong to ST, 29 from OBC, 10 SC, and 15 represent general category. Three candidates are from minority communities. The Congress has also allocated 14 tickets to women. Congress has re-nominated two incumbent MLAs, while 22 out of the 71 sitting Congress MLAs were not given party tickets for the upcoming election.

20 constituencies voting today are spread across seven districts in the Naxal-affected Bastar division and four additional districts, which include Rajnandgaon, Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, Kabirdham, and Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai.

BJP's Chaitaram Atami faces MLA Devati Karma's son Chhaviendra Karma on Congress seat. In 2018, Bhima Mandavi defeated Congress candidate Devati Karma by 2,172 votes.

Congress replaced sitting MLA Shishupal Shori with former MLA Shankar Dhruv, while BJP has fielded Asharam Netam in place of Harishankar Netam. It's first for both of them. In 2018, Congress beat BJP by more than 19,000 votes.

Congress' Roop Singh Potai is facing BJP's state president Vikram Usendi. Potai recently switched over to Congress from BJP. A three-way contest, the district will also see former Congress MLA Anoop Nag giving the two candidates a tight fight.