Two candidates including the Congress candidate Deepak Baij and Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Aayatu Ram Mandavi purchased nomination forms on the first day of nomination. However, no nomination forms were deposited on the first day. The notification for the first phase of Lok Sabha Elections-2019 was issued on Monday, March 18, 2019. Notifications for the second phase of Lok Sabha Elections-2019 will be announced on Tuesday, March 19, 2019. With the issuance of the notification on Monday, the nomination filing process for Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, where elections will be held in first phase, commenced. The last date for filing nomination for the First Phase is on March 25, 2019. The scrutiny of nomination forms for First Phase will be held on March 26, 2019 and nomination can be withdrawn for First Phase on March 28, 2019. Under the first phase, people from eight Assembly segments in five districts under Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, will be exercising their franchise on April 11, 2019.
Altogether 13,61,146 voters including 7,12,259 female, 6,59,824 male and 49 Third Gender voters will be exercising their franchise through 1,878 polling booths in 1,630 polling centres in Bastar Lok Sabha constituency. Accordingly, 229 polling booths have been established in Kondagaon Assembly segment, 257 in Narayanpur Assembly segment, 197 in Bastar Assembly segment, 233 in Jagdalpur Assembly segment, 229 in Chitrakot Assembly segment, 273 in Dantewada Assembly segment, 245 in Bijapur Assembly segment and 215 in Konta Assembly segment. Congress candidate from Bastar Lok Sabha constituency Deepak Baij purchased nomination form on the first day. Deepak Baij hails from Gadhiya village in Bastar district. Ahead of purchasing nomination form, Baij paid obeisance at the Maa Danteshwari temple.
He was accompanied by Jagdalpur MLA Rekhchand Jain, Chandan Kashyap, Bastar (Rural) President Rajman Benjam and large number of party workers. Nomination form was also purchased by Aayatu Ram Mandavi, a resident of Biringpal village in Bastar district, on behalf of Bahujan Samaj Party, although BSP is yet to announce its official candidature from Bastar. Meanwhile, people are eagerly waiting for the announcement of Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Bastar. Whether the party will be fielding sitting MP Dinesh Kashyap or this time it would change candidature, is likely to get cleared on Tuesday. The notification for the second phase of Lok Sabha Election 2019 will be announced on Tuesday. In the second phase elections will be held in three Lok Sabha constituencies including Kanker, Mahasamund and Rajnandgaon. Polling for the second phase of Lok Sabha Elections 2019 will be held on April 18. In the second phase, nominations can be filed till March 26. Scrutiny of nomination forms will be held on March 27 and candidates can withdraw their names on March 29. Under the second phase of elections, 48,95,719 voters from all three Lok Sabha constituencies, including 24,63,102 female, 24,32,554 male and 63 Third Gender voters, will be exercising their franchise. Altogether 6484 polling booths have been established for polling under second phase in Chhattisgarh.