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For the second and final phase of the Chhattisgarh assembly elections, polling will be held across 72 seats in 19 districts on Tuesday.
Of the 19 districts going to the polls, Gariaband, Dhamtari, Mahasamund, Kabirdham, Jashpur and Balrampur have some Naxal presence. Extra security would be provided in these areas, a senior police official said.
In the second phase, a total of 1,101 candidates are in the fray.
The list includes BJP ministers Rajesh Munat (Raipur City West), Amar Agrawal (Bilaspur), Brijmohan Agrawal (Raipur City South), Ramsevak Paikra (Pratappur), Bhaiyyalal Rajwade (Baikunthpur), Punnulal Mohile (Mungeli), Prem Prakash Pandey (Bhilai Nagar), Dayaldas Baghel (Nawagarh) and Ajay Chandrakar (Kurud) and state BJP president Dharamlal Kaushik (Bilha).
State Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel (Patan), Leader of Opposition in the Assembly T S Singh Deo (Ambikapur), Lok Sabha member from Durg Tamradhwaj Sahu (Durg Rural), former Union minister Charandas Mahant (Shakti) are among the key Congressmen whose fate will be decided in the second phase of polling.
From Marwahi, former chief minister Ajit Jogi, who has floated the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J), is contesting. Renu Jogi, his wife, is in the fray from Kota while his daughter-in-law Richa Jogi is a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) nominee from the Akaltara seat in the second phase of polling.
In the final phase, the highest number of 46 contestants are in the fray from the Raipur City South seat.
A twist to the poll battle:
The coalition between the Mayawati-led BSP, Jogi's JCC(J) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) has added a twist to the election battle between the saffron party and the grand old party.
High-voltage drama:
A high-voltage campaign, dominated by the issues of farmers, jobs and corruption, came to an end on Sunday evening. In the campaign, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ruling the state for 15 years, and the main opposition Congress fielded their top leaders.
On the last day of campaigning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath campaigned for the ruling party.
On Saturday, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and BJP president Amit Shah had addressed rallies in the state.
The BJP top brass targeted the Gandhi family during the campaign for the "misrule" of 50 years.
The Congress focussed on farmers' issues, promising loan waiver, bonus on paddy procurement and setting up of food processing units. Rahul Gandhi also targeted Modi over the Rafale fighter jets deal and Chief Minister Raman Singh for the alleged PDS (Public Distribution System) and chit fund scams in the state.
In the first phase, polling was held for 18 seats in the eight Naxal-affected districts of the state on November 12.
In the first phase, 76.28 per cent voting was registered. The poll results will be declared on December 11.
(With PTI inputs)
