Raman Singh/PTI
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Monday said it is "good" that his predecessor Ajit Jogi has joined the fray, but it would hurt Congress' electoral prospects more than that of the BJP in the upcoming assembly elections.
“It is a good thing that his party (JCC) is fighting election. It will not be a two-way fight (anymore). He will impact both BJP and Congress in this election but his impact will be more on Congress,” Singh told PTI in an interview here.
From 2000 to 2003, Jogi served as Chhattisgarh's first chief minister as a Congress leader. For nearly 15 years since then, Singh has been the chief minister, while Congress has been his main challenger in all three previous assembly elections.
Jogi's Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (JCC) has allied with Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party for the upcoming state elections.
The polling in Chhattisgarh will be held in two phases to mitigate the risk of violence due to Naxal violence. Chhattisgarh Assembly has 90 seats, in first phase on November 12 only 18 seats, affected by violence will go to polls, while in the second phase on November 20, rest of the 72 constituencies will witness voting.
The notification for the first phase will be issued on October 16, while the last date for nominations would be October 23.
The scrutiny of the nomination papers would take place on October 24 and the last date for the withdrawal of the nominations was October 26.
The notification for the elections in the rest of the 72 constituencies in the second phase would be issued on October 26, while the last day for nominations would be November 2.
The scrutiny of the nomination papers would take place on November 3 and the final date for the withdrawal of the nominations was November 5, the chief election commissioner said.
The counting of votes will be held on December 11.
Like Madhya Pradesh, the BJP is ruling Chhattisgarh for last 15 years. Chief Minister Raman Singh is heading the state since 7 December 2003.
(With PTI inputs)
