Chhattisgarh Election 2023: First Phase Voting Concludes with 70.87% Turnout – Results Expected on December 3rd

Chattisgarh Election 2023: Voting ends in Chhattisgarh and Mizoram, future of many veterans locked in Mateti.

The first round of the Legislative Assembly elections in the state of Chhattisgarh Election 2023, in which young people actively participated, ended with the polling of 20 seats, including Studio and Rajnandgaon. Furthermore, Mizoram saw voting in each of its 40 constituencies. Notably, a number of districts in Chhattisgarh were under threat from the Naxals, and both the Congress and the BJP sent representatives.

Twenty constituencies, including Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Beejapur, and Konta, were used for the first phase of voting, which ran from 7 AM to 3 PM. Voting was open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the ten remaining constituencies: Pandaria, Kawardha, Khairagarh, Durg, Rajnandgaon, Dongargarh, Khujji, Wajiwada, Jagdalpur, and Chitrakote.

The newly established Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP ran in Mizoram in four and twenty-three seats, respectively. In Mizoram, a total of 27 candidates ran for office.

Voting in 12 Bastar districts—eight in the jungle and twelve in the fort—was completed in the Chhattisgarh Election of 2023. Notably, four former BJP ministers, a former President’s officer, engineers from the previous Raman Government, and developers from the Plastic Government have all participated in these regions.

A number of tribal development initiatives were carried out as part of the Democracy Festival in preparation for Chhattisgarh Election 2023 first phase of voting, with an emphasis on empowering the Adivasi community. It is noteworthy that naxalism has affected this time around, especially in the Rio region.

Results for the first phase are expected to be announced on December 3rd.

Here are the areas where voting has concluded:

Antagarh
Bhanupratappur
Kanker
Keshkal
Kondagaon
Narayanpur
Dantewada
Beejapur
Konta

And the areas where voting continued until 5 PM:

Khairagarh
Dongargarh
Rajnandgaon
Durg
Khujji
Pandaria
Kawardha
Jagdalpur
Chitrakote

The first round of voting in the Chhattisgarh Election 2023 covered 20 divisions in the state, including the Bastar region that is affected by the Naxals. Interestingly, the voting took place during these 20 quarters. The BJP had lost in 18 of these 20 divisions during the 2018 elections. This indicates that the party had only won two seats in this area.

Out of the twenty seats up for election, twelve (ST) and one (SC) belong to the Scheduled Caste (SC) category. During the first round of voting, 223 candidates—including former chief minister Raman Singh, Congress state president Deepak Baij, three ministers from the Congress administration, four former BJP ministers, and one former presidential officer—will have their fates determined.

Voting was held in the impacted areas, which include Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Beejapur, and Konta, from 7 AM to 3 PM for ten quarters. Voting took place from 8 AM to 5 PM for the remaining 10 quarters, which included Pandaria, Kawardha, Khairagarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Khujji, Wajiwada, Jagdalpur, and Chitrakote.

The Congress has fielded Barak Devangan, a senior single leader and Chairman of the Chhattisgarh Election 2023 Mineral Development Corporation, to challenge former Chief Minister Raman Singh in the Rajnandgaon by-election. In the 2018 Legislative Assembly elections, Dr. Raman Singh, the BJP candidate, defeated Karuna Shukla, the Congress candidate from Rajnandgaon, by a substantial margin of 16,933 votes.

In the 2018 Legislative Assembly elections, Bhima Mandavi, a BJP candidate, defeated Congress veteran leader Devati Karma in the Dantewada constituency by 2,172 votes, totaling 37,990 votes.

It will be interesting to see if the BJP wins the remaining 18 seats this time around, or if the Congress party, which split during the 2018 elections, reproduces its performance. It is important to note that 12 of these 20 quarters are set aside for Scheduled Caste (SC) categories and 1 for Tribal (ST) categories.

There were 223 ballots cast in the state’s first voting phase out of 40,78,681 eligible voters. This phase includes notable individuals such as former chief minister Raman Singh, president of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC), Deepak Baij, three ministers from the Congress government, four former BJP ministers, and a former presidential officer.

In the impacted areas, voting took place in the evening from 7 AM to 3 PM. It is noteworthy that the Bastar region, which is affected by the Naxals, saw weeks of campaigning. Among the front-runners in the race are Mohan Markam (Kondagaon), Mohammad Akbar (Kawardha), Minister Kawasi Lakhma (Konta), and Chhattisgarh Congress chief and MP Deepak Baij (Chitrakote). Former chief minister Raman Singh is running against the Congress from the BJP. BJP candidate Bhima Mandavi secured 37,990 votes in the 2018 Legislative Assembly elections, defeating Congress veteran leader Devati Karma by 2,172 votes in the Dantewada constituency. Now that both parties have had a share of seats in these 20 constituencies, it will be interesting to see which party gains the upper hand: the Congress or the BJP

The Mizoram National Front is optimistic that its emphasis on Mizo nationalism will enable them to win back control of Mizoram for a second time in a row. There are 174 contenders in all, with the Mizo National Front, Congress, and Zoram People’s Movement running in each of the 40 seats, and the BJP, AAP, and Independents running in 23, 4, and 27 seats, respectively.

As Mizoram and Chhattisgarh Election 2023 engage in the election process with a significant voter turnout, keep checking back for more live updates. Some of the incidents that have occurred include an IED explosion in Sukma and clashes between Maoists and security forces in Kanker. December 3rd will see the announcement of the results.