The India TV Election Forum witnessed a heated verbal clash between the Bharatiya Janata Party's Braj Mohan Agrawal and Congress's Nand Kumar Sai. The debate began with Braj Mohan Agrawal stating that Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress Party, has now ventured into the fields, insinuating that he hadn't set foot in the fields before and had arrived today for an election photoshoot. Agrawal further claimed that Rahul Gandhi lacked even basic knowledge about the state (Chhattisgarh) and yet portrayed himself as a grassroots leader.
Agrawal also accused Rahul Gandhi of conveniently ignoring the various scams and allegations of corruption during his tenure. He listed instances of scandals related to Gobar (cow dung), Sharab (liquor), Koyla (coal), PDS (Public Distribution System), and the AgustaWestland chopper deal, asserting that Rahul Gandhi conveniently avoids discussing these issues. Agrawal criticised Rahul for making promises in the previous elections, such as providing allowances to the unemployed and homes for the homeless, and then conveniently forgetting them.
In contrast, Nand Kumar Sai, the Congress leader, defended the state government led by Bhupesh Baghel, highlighting their accomplishments. He credited Bhupesh Baghel's government with working for the welfare of children, youth, women, farmers, and senior citizens. Sai accused the opposition of merely making allegations without evidence and emphasised that they were misusing central investigative agencies to obstruct the state government's work. Sai argued that the opposition lacks substantial issues to raise and, as a result, resorts to leveling accusations without any real basis.
State to vote in two phases on November 7 and 17
The state is all set to vote for its next chief minister as the Election Commission (EC) announced the full schedule for the upcoming assembly polls. In a press conference, the EC announced that the polling in Chhattisgarh will take place in two phases. The first phase of polling for 20 seats in Chhattisgarh will take place on November 7, 2023. The remaining 70 seats in the state will go to the polls on November 17. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced in the press conference that the counting of votes for all five states will take place on December 3.
The Election Commission said in a press conference that five state assemblies of Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana will go to polls on different days beginning November 7, and the votes will be counted on December 3.
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