Congress releases second list of candidates for Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections

Congress on Wednesday released the second list of 53 candidates in Chhattisgarh, retaining 26 sitting MLAs and dropping ten in these seats, taking the total number of candidates announced so far to 83.

The remaining seven seats, all but one held by the Congress, will be finalised soon, amid indication that some of the MLAs may not get to fight again this time on party ticket. So far, Congress has denied tickets to 18 MLAs while retaining 48.

The first list released on Sunday had 30 candidates, including Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and other senior leaders. Of the 30, 22 were sitting MLAs, including the entire Baghel Cabinet of 12, while eight were denied tickets.

The second list includes former Rajya Sabha MP Chhaya Verma, who replaces Anita Yogendra Sharma in Dharsiwa, and sitting MLAs Vikas Upadhyay (Raipur City West), Pankaj Sharma (Raipur Rural) and Mahant Ram Sundar Das (Raipur City South).

Sitting MLA Arun Vora, who is the son of former Chief Minister of united Madhya Pradesh and Congress Treasurer late Motilal Vohra, has been renominated from Durg City. Sources said candidates  remaining seats will be announced soon. 

K K Dhruv has been re-elected from Marwahi, which he won in a bypoll after the death of Janata Congress Chhattisgarh supremo and former state Chief Minister Ajit Jogi in 2020. From Kota where Jogi's wife Renu Jogi is a sitting MLA, Congress has fielded Atal Srivastav.

Congress has not announced candidates for Ambikapur, Sarai Pali, Mahasamund, Kasdol, Raipur City North, Sihava and Dhamtari. In Ambikapur, royal family member Ambika Singh Deo is the sitting MLA but has not found space in the second list.

Interestingly, her NRI husband had in February urged her to quit politics after a BJP leader made uncharitable remarks in public. She, however, had continued in politics.

In the first list besides Baghel, Congress has also fielded big guns like state party chief and MP Deepak Baij, Deputy Chief Minister T S Singhdeo and top leaders Tamradhwaj Sahu, Charan Das Mahant and Mohan Markam for the fight to retain power in the state, which it won five years ago.