The Bharatiya Janata Party has denied ticket to 14 sitting MLAs in the first list of 77 candidates for the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections in November, PTI reported. The announcement came after a meeting of the party’s central election committee attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday.
The BJP announced 17 candidates for the first phase of polls on November 12 and 60 for the second phase on November 20.
The BJP also declared a list of 38 candidates for Telangana and 13 candidates for Mizoram. While Mizoram votes on November 20, Telangana goes to polls on December 7.
The BJP named Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh from his current Assembly seat Rajnandgaon. Union Health Minister JP Nadda said that 14 MLAs have been replaced with new candidates among the 77 candidates out of the 90 assembly segments. These include minister Ramshila Sahu, Yudhveer Singh Judev, Sunita Rathiya, Vidhyaratan Bhasin, Raju Khatriya, Bhojram Nag and Naveen Markandey.
BJP MP Vikram Usendi will contest from Antahgarh seat of Bastar region and former Raipur Collector OP Chaudhary, who recently joined the party, will contest from Kharsaiya seat. Fourteen women candidates have also been given ticket, said Nadda.
Tribal leader Ramdayal Uike, who last week joined the party from the Congress, will contest from the Pali Tanakhar seat.
The BJP’s candidates reflected that it has lost the election even before the actual voting began, said the Congress. “From the list, it is clear that the BJP will not cross 25-mark in Chhattisgarh,” said party spokesperson RP Singh. The Congress on Thursday declared the names of 12 candidates for the first phase of elections in the state, repeating seven out of eight of its sitting legislators.
Releasing the list of 38 candidates for Telangana, Nadda said that party considered the aspirations of its dedicated workers in the state, NDTV reported. “Adequate representation has been given to representatives of all communities,” he said.
The BJP is yet to announce the candidates for elections in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!