Chhattisgarh Assembly Election 2023 : Final phase voting on; CM Baghel, BJP’s Arun Sao in fray

The second phase of the assembly elections in Chhattisgarh will take place today for the remaining 70 seats of the 90-member assembly.

The first phase was held on November 7 which saw a high voter turnout of 78 percent. The counting of votes will be done on December 3 along with four other state assemblies, which will go under the voting process this November.

Over 18,800 polling stations have been set up for the polling that will commence from 8 am and will continue till 5 pm. However, voting in nine polling booths – Kamarbhaudi, Amamora, Odh, Bade Gobra, Ganwargaon, Gariba, Nagesh, Sahbinkachhar, and Kodomali – in naxal-affected Bindranawagarh seat in Gariaband district will take place from 7 am to 3 pm due to security reasons.

A total of 958 candidates are in the fray across the 70 seats, including chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, deputy CM T S Singh Deo, eight state ministers, and four members of Parliament.

The electoral fight is largely between Congress and the BJP in the state as high-powered campaigns were pulled off by both parties. The BJP’s campaign was largely spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who addressed four rallies in the state where he targeted the current Bhupesh Baghel-led government – especially over corruption and the alleged Mahadev betting app scam. Other BJP leaders including Amit Shah and JP Nadda also campaigned for the state.

Meanwhile, Congress leaders including Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Bhupesh Baghel led the campaign in the state where they threw a counter-offensive against the BJP.