Chhattisgarh Assembly Polls: Congress releases first list of candidates for state elections; fields CM Bhupesh Baghel, others

Congress on Sunday announced its first list of 30 candidates for the upcoming Chhattisgarh assembly elections that is scheduled to take place in two phases on - November 7 and November 17 of this year.

The party fielded Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel from his Patan assembly constituency and Deputy Chief Minister T S Singh Deo from Ambikapur assembly seat.

Congress also announced its first list of candidates for the Telangana and Madhya Pradesh assembly polls.


Meanwhile, Congress has fielded Girish Devangan in Rajnandgaon, where he will contest BJP leader and former state chief minister Raman Singh.

Congress leader Taradhwaj Sahu will contest the polls from Durg (Rural), Ravindra Choubey from Nawagarh, Yashoda Verma from Khairagarh, Vikram Mandavi from Bijapur, Lakheshwar Baghel from Bastar, Deepak Baiji from Chitrakot and K Chavindra Karma Dantewada.

Also Read: Chhattisgarh elections 2023: Polls, result dates, key players & issues. Here is everything you should know


In 2018, the Congress staged a massive comeback in Chhattisgarh by winning 67 of the total 90 seats and wresting the state from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after 20 years. The BJP was reduced to only 18 seats while the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh Jogi-Bahujan Samaj Party (JCCJ-BSP) combine won seven, including that of former chief minister Ajit Jogi.

The ruling party also fielded 14 candidates from the Scheduled Tribal (ST) community. This would be crucial for Congress as tribal communities constitute around 32 per cent of the state's population, making their support crucial for any party's success.

The result will be declared on December 3. The elections to five states are crucial as they are being held months before the Lok Sabha elections in April-May next year.

(More to come)