Bhopal: In a significant development, Congress on Monday decided to field former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s niece against Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh in the Rajnandgaon assembly constituency.
Mr Singh currently represented Rajnandgaon assembly seat. Karuna Shukla, Mr Vajpayee’s niece, figured in the second list of six candidates of Congress declared on late on Monday evening.
Eighteen assembly seats are going to polls in the first phase of elections in Chhattisgarh on November 12. The rest 72 assembly constituencies in the state are scheduled to go to polls in the second and final phase of elections on November 20.
Filing of nomination for the 18 assembly constituencies of Bastar and Rajnandgaon regions, which are going to polls in the first phase, will end on Monday.
Congress had earlier declared the first list of 12 candidates. However, BJP last week released its first list of 78 candidates.
Ms Shukla, who began her political career in BJP, switched over to Congress when she was denied party ticket in 2013 assembly polls in Chhattisgarh.
