Chhattisgarh Polls 2018 Today: Polling will be held from 8 am to 5 pm in all 72 seats
A three-way contest is in the offing as voting for the second and concluding phase of the Chhattisgarh elections began on Tuesday for 72 seats spread across 19 districts, with the ruling BJP wrestling it out with the opposition Congress and the Ajit Jogi-Mayawati-led alliance emerging as a formidable third front. A total of 1,079 candidates are in the fray, and both Congress and BJP are contesting all the 72 seats in the Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections.
The Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is contesting for 25 seats and its ally and former Chief Minister Jogi's Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (J) is vying in 46 seats. The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded candidates in 66 constituencies.
Polling will be held from 8 am to 5 pm in all 72 seats where an electorate of over 1.5 crore, including over 77 lakh male and over 76 lakh female voters are eligible to exercise their franchise. There are nearly 1,000 voters from the third gender.
Here are the LIVE updates on the voting underway for the Chhattisgarh Elections:
"I can see that the people of Chhattisgarh have come out in large number to exercise their franchise despite residing in rural and outskirts areas. After looking at the mood of the people, I am sure that BJP will again win and would get 65 plus seats," Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh after casting his vote
A voter-turnout of 58.47 % has been recorded till 4 PM, in the second phase of voting in Chhattisgarh: ANI
45.2 % voting recorded till 2:55 PM in the second phase of voting in Chhattisgarh: news agency ANI
Chhattisgarh Elections 2018: See pics here
Nearly 25.2 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise till 12.30 pm in the second and final phase of the Chhattisgarh Assembly election on Tuesday, an election official said, according to news agency Press Trust of India.
Chhattisgarh Elections 2018: Chief Minister Raman Singh casts his vote
Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh cast his vote today in the second phase of the Chhattisgarh assembly election.
Read Here: Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections 2018: Voting Starts For Chhattisgarh Elections Round 2, Test For 2 Big-HittersVoting has started for the second and final phase of Chhattisgarh assembly elections amid elaborate security arrangements including more than one lakh personnel, helicopters and drones. After a promising 76.28 per cent turnout in the 18-seat first phase in Maoist affected areas, the second phase is seeing voting for 72 seats spread across 19 districts. More than 1.5 crore people are eligible to vote in over 19,000 polling booths, deciding the fates of many high-profile leaders. Polling that started at 8 am will end at 5 pm.
Chhattisgarh Elections 2018: People Go Out To Vote: See Pics
People turned out to vote during the second phase of the Chhattisgarh elections. See photos here.
Chhattisgarh Elections 2018: Ajit Jogi goes to vote
12.54% voting recorded till 10 am in the second phase of voting
In the second phase of voting in Chhattisgarh elections, 12.54% voting has been recorded until 10 am, according to news agency ANI.
Chhattisgarh Elections 2018: PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Shivraj Singh Chouhan tweet
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan have all tweeted in Hindi urging voters to vote in the second phase of the Chhattisgarh elections.
There are 119 women contestants while the maximum number of candidates are in Raipur city south constituency where 46 nominees are in the fray, according to the Press Trust of India.
The least number of candidates are in Bindranavagarh seat 6.
The fate of the state Assembly speaker Gaurishankar Agrawal (Kasdol constituency) and 9 ministers- Brijmohan Agrawal (Raipur city south seat), Rajesh Munat (Raipur city west), Amar Agrawal (Bilaspur), Bhaiyyalal Rajwade (Baikunthpur), Ramsevak Paikra (Pratappur), Punnulal Mohile (Mungeli), Prem Prakash Pandey (Bhilai Nagar), Dayaldas Baghel (Nawagarh) and Ajay Chandrakar (Kurud) besides party state president Dharamlal Kaushik (Bilha) will be decided in this phase, a PTI report said.
Besides, Congress state chief Bhupesh Baghel (Patan constituency), leader of opposition TS Singhdeo (Ambikapur), Congress MP from Durg Lok Sabha seat Tamradhwaj Sahu (Durg rural), former union minister Charandas Mahant (Shakti) are among the key Congress candidates who are contesting in the final phase.
Rajyavarshan Singh Rathore has tweeted over the Chhattisgarh elections.
"Your vote is your voice. I urge all the voters of Chhattisgarh to come out and cast their vote. Your vote will decide the future of Chhattisgarh!" he tweeted.
A total of 1079 candidates are contesting in the 72 constituencies of 19 districts in the state with an electorate of 1,54,00,596, according to news agency Press Trust of India.
This is the last of the two-phase polls to the 90-member Assembly where the BJP has been in power for the last 15 years.
"Voting begun at 7 am in two polling booths of Bindranavagarh constituency (Gariaband district), while in the remaining 72 booths, polling started at 8 am," an election official said, according to PTI.
The time of polling in 72 constituencies is from 8 am to 5 pm except in two polling booths- Amamora (booth no. 72) and Modh (no.76) in Bindranavgarh where polling is being held from 7 am to 3 pm due to the threat posed by maoists, he said.
Voting for the second phase of polling has begun.
Polling for two constituencies-Amaamora and Modh -began earlier, at 7 am and will carry on till 3 pm.
Chhattisgarh Elections 2018: Voting begins for two constituencies- Amaamora and Modh
The second phase of polling is being held in 72 seats spread across 19 districts, out of the 90-member Assembly. Of 72 seats, the polling for two constituencies- Amaamora and Modh is being held from 7 am to 3 pm while voting in the remainder of the constituencies will take place from 8 am to 5 pm, according to news agency ANI.
Ahead of the voting, mock polling was conducted at a polling station in Surguja's Ambikapur.
Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines were installed at all the polling centers, according to ANI.
Security has been tightened in the state with the deployment of over one lakh security personnel in lieu of Naxal attacks.
Visual from a polling station in Bilaspur district's Pendra.
Visual from a polling station in Durg district's Patan.
Elaborate security arrangements including more than one lakh personnel, helicopters and drones have been put in place for the elections today. After a promising 76.28 per cent turnout in the 18-seat first phase in Maoist affected areas, the second phase will see voting for 72 seats spread across 19 districts.
Visuals from a polling station in Kabirdham district's Kawardha. Voting for the second phase will begin at 8 am today. (ANI)