THE fate of 168 candidates, comprising 142 men and 26 women, will be determined through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) across seven Lok Sabha constituencies of State on Tuesday. In these constituencies, which are part of the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections, a head-to-head battle is underway between candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC). Both the BJP and the Congress are leaving no stone unturned in their efforts to sway voters in the final moments of campaigning for this phase. The political scenario reveals a direct confrontation between the BJP and the Congress across all seven constituencies.

 

During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP clinched six out of seven seats in State where polling is scheduled for the third phase. The BJP emerged victorious in Raipur, Durg, Bilaspur, Janjgir-Champa, Raigarh, and Surguja constituencies, while the Congress secured only the Korba seat. Overall, in the previous Lok Sabha elections, the BJP secured nine out of eleven seats, with the Congress only managing to secure two. In Raipur Lok Sabha constituency, the battle is between BJP's Brijmohan Agrawal and Congress' Vikas Upadhyay. In Durg, it's between BJP's Vijay Baghel and Congress' Rajendra Sahu. Janjgir-Champa witnesses a clash between BJP's Kamlesh Jangade and Congress' Dr. Shiv Kumar Dahariya. Korba sees a face-off between BJP's Kamlesh Jangade and Congress' Jyotsana Mahant. Bilaspur is witnessing a direct contest between BJP's Tokhan Sahu and Congress' Devendra Singh Yadav.

 

Raigarh sees BJP's Radheshyam Rathia and Congress' Menka Devi Singh in the fray. Surguja witnesses a clash between BJP's Chintamani Maharaj and Congress' Shashi Singh. A total of 168 candidates are competing across the seven Lok Sabha constituencies in this phase, comprising 142 men and 26 women. Surguja has 10 candidates, including seven men and three women. Raigarh has 13 candidates, with 11 men and two women. Janjgir-Champa has 18 candidates, including 12 men and six women. Korba has 27 candidates, comprising 21 men and six women. Bilaspur has 37 candidates, with 36 men and one woman. Durg has 25 candidates, including 22 men and three women. Raipur has 38 candidates, with 33 men and five women vying for victory.