Campaigning for 1st phase of Chhattisgarh polls to conclude today

Raipur, Nov 9: The

for the first phase of the

assembly elections scheduled on Monday will conclude on Saturday evening.

Eighteen constituencies across eight districts in southern Chhattisgarh will go to the polls in the first phase while the remaining 72 constituencies will go to the polling on November 19. Chhattisgarh is the only state to witness a two-phase poll this time. Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Delhi are the other poll-bound states. Results of the polling in all states except Mizoram will be declared on December 8. The counting for the northeastern state will take place a day later.

Twelve out of the 18 constituencies that will go to the polls on Monday are located in the Maoist-affected region of Bastar while six are in the Rajnandgaon division.

Eighteen constituencies will go to the polls in Chhattisgarh on Nov 11

Top leaders from both the national parties, the Congress and the BJP, have been campaigning hard in the poll-bound districts over the last week. While Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi and the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi have already campaigned in the BJP-ruled state, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to visit the state on Saturday.

BJP patriarch L K Advani, who turned 86 this week, will campaign in Kasdol, Bilaspur and Bhatapara on Saturday for the second phase of the state polls. Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj will address a rally in Rajnandgaon.

Security was beefed up ahead of the prime minister's visit, particularly in the Maoist-affected Bastar region. Top Congress leaders of the state and also a former Union minister were killed by the ultras in May, putting the party's prospects in a jeopardy.

OneIndia News