Campaigning ends for Raipur City South assembly seat bypoll; voting on Nov 13
11 Nov 2024 6:44 PM IST
The campaigning for the bypoll to the Raipur City South assembly constituency in Chhattisgarh ended on Monday evening with leaders from both ruling BJP and the opposition Congress making a final bid to woo voters. (File Photo)
Raipur: The campaigning for the bypoll to the Raipur City South assembly constituency in Chhattisgarh ended on Monday evening with leaders from both ruling BJP and the opposition Congress making a final bid to woo voters. BJP candidate Sunil Kumar Soni, a former Lok Sabha MP and Raipur Mayor, is locked in a straight fight against Congress nominee Akash Sharma, a young face and state president of the party's youth wing, in the prestigious seat, where voting will take place on November 13.
The seat fell vacant after the sitting BJP MLA and former state minister Brijmohan Agrawal resigned following his election to the Lok Sabha from Raipur in this year's parliamentary polls. Agrawal had won from Raipur City South in the 2023 assembly polls.
The canvassing concluded at 6 pm, and now candidates can undertake door-to-door campaigning before polling starts on Wednesday morning, an election official here said.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Agrawal spearheaded canvassing for the BJP candidate, while former CM Bhupesh Baghel, Congress state in-charge Sachin Pilot and the party's state unit president Deepak Baij campaigned for the main opposition party's nominee.
At the hustings, the BJP highlighted pro-women and pro-farmers measures taken by the Sai government, which included launching of the 'Mahtari Vandan Yojna' under which married women are being provided monthly assistance of Rs 1,000.
The Congress, during its campaign, accused BJP candidate Soni of being "inactive" during his tenure as the Raipur MP (2019 to 2024) and targeted the Sai government, which assumed office in December last year, over the "deteriorating" law and order situation in the state.
On the last day of the campaigning, Chief Minister Sai held a roadshow in the constituency.
Though there are 30 candidates in the fray for the bypoll, the main fight is between the Congress and BJP nominees.
There are 2,71,169 electors in the constituency, including 1,33,800 men, 1,37,317 women and 52 transgenders. A total of 253 polling booths have been set up for the bypoll and five companies of security personnel will be deployed to maintain law and order during the election, officials said.
Vote count will take place on November 23. In the last year's assembly elections, the BJP had registered a landslide victory by winning 54 out of 90 seats in the astate. The Congress, then in power, had won 35 seats, while the Gondwana Gantantra Party had emerged victorious in one assembly segment.
( Source : PTI )
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