12 candidates file nominations for Chhattisgarh Assembly polls

RAIPUR: As many as 12 candidates have filed their nominations for the first phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly polls so far.

Eighteen Maoist-affected constituencies of south Chhattisgarh will go into polls in the first phase scheduled on November 11.

On the day, 11 nominations were filed for seven constituencies namely Rajnandgaon, Kanker, Bhanupratappur, Keshkal, Dantewada, Bijapur and Narayanpur, Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Kujur told reporters this evening.

BJP's sitting MLAs Mahesh Gagada and Bhima Mandavi were among prominent faces who filed their papers from Bijapur and Dantewada seats respectively.

Similarly, four Indian National Congress (INC) candidates Manoj Mandavi (Bhanupratappur), Chandan Singh Kashyap (Narayanpur), Shankar Dhruwa (Kanker) and Sant Ram Netam (Keshkal) also filed their papers today.

Other candidates who filed their papers include Ramesh Netam of CPM from Kanker, Gurudatta Lokesh of Chhattisgarh Swabhiman Manch (CSM) and Kewal Rajak (independent) from Rajnandgaon, CSM's Vishnu Kumar Verma from Dongargaon, as well as Nina Rautiya (Independent) from Bijapur.

Ajit Jain of CSM had filed his nomination from the Rajnandgaon assembly segment on October 19.