Chhattisgarh polls | Deadline for withdrawal of nomination ends, 223 candidates in fray for first phase of 20 seats

223 candidates in fray for Chhattisgarh's first phase polls on November 7. 294 filed nominations, 253 valid after scrutiny. Prominent candidates include Congress’ Deepak Baij, BJP's Raman Singh, Congress MLA Anup Nag

A total of 223 candidates were in the fray for the first phase of Assembly polls comprising 20 seats in Chhattisgarh after the deadline for withdrawal of nomination papers ended on Monday, an official said.

The candidates include State Congress chief Deepak Baij and former Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party vice president Raman Singh.

Polls to these 20 seats in seven Naxalite-affected districts in Bastar division and four other districts will take place on November 7. Votes will be counted on December 3.

"A total of 294 candidates had filed their nominations for the first phase. Of these, papers of 253 were found valid after scrutiny. Of them, 30 candidates withdrew their nomination on Monday, leaving 223 in the fray," a statement from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer said.

The first phase of voting will cover Antagarh (ST), Bhanupratappur (ST), Kanker (ST), Kondagaon (ST), Narayanpur (ST), Bastar (ST), Jagdalpur, Keshkal (ST), Chitrakot (ST), Dantewada (ST), Bijapur (ST), Konta (ST), Khairagarh, Dongargarh (SC), Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Mohla-Manpur (ST), Kawardha and Pandariya seats.

The highest number of contestants are in Rajnandgaon constituency (29), while the lowest number of candidates are seven each in Chitrakot and Dantewada seats.

State Congress chief and MP Deepak Baij (Chitrakot), Ministers Kawasi Lakhma (Konta), Mohan Markam (Kondagaon) and Mohammad Akbar (Kawardha), and Chhavindra Karma, the son of late Congress leader Mahendra Karma, are among prominent candidates from the ruling party in the first phase.