Chhattisgarh assembly election 2018 LIVE UPDATES: 71.9% turnout recorded in phase 2
Chhattisgarh assembly election 2018: The state voted for 72 assembly seats across 19 districts of the state today in the second and final phase of the Chhattisgarh assembly election 2018. The first phase of the Chhattisgarh assembly election 2018 was held on November 12 when votes were polled for 18 assembly seats across eight Naxal-affected districts.
71.93% voter turnout recorded in phase 2 of polling
Chhattisgarh recorded 71.93 per cent voter turnout in phase 2 of assembly elections on Tuesday.
64.8% turnout recorded till 5 pm
Chhattisgarh recorded a voter turnout of 64.8 per cent till 5 pm -- a decline from last year's 74.7 per cent.
EVMs & VVPATs being sealed at polling station in Baloda Bazar's Simga after the second phase of voting for #ChhattisgarhElections2018 concludes. Voting still underway at the polling booths where voters are in the queue pic.twitter.com/RYR0CAoZgu
— ANI (@ANI) November 20, 2018
58.47% voting recorded till 4 pm
The state saw 58.47 per cent voter turnout till 4 pm.
45.2% voter turnout till 2.55 pm
The state saw a voter turnout of 45.2 per cent till 2.55 pm.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh casts his vote
The incumbent chief minister cast his vote at a polling booth in Kawardha.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh casts his vote at a polling booth in Kawardha. pic.twitter.com/pSql5Q3lsq
— ANI (@ANI) November 20, 2018
25% voter turnout till 12.30pm
The state saw a voter turnout of 25 per cent till 12.30 pm.
Congress visits election commission
A delegation of Congress leaders, led by PL Punia, visited the Election Commission of India (ECI) in New Delhi over alleged attempts to misuse and tamper with the EVMs, during the second phase of polling in Chhattisgarh Assembly polls.
23.71% turnout till noon
The second phase of polling Chhattisgarh Assembly elections saw a voter turnout of 23.71 per cent till 12 pm.
12.54% voting till 10am
12.54 per cent voting was recorded till 10am.
Minor technical glitches stopped voting, but were later corrected at polling booths of Sarguja and Dhamtari seats.
Ajit Jogi casts his vote
Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (JCC) president Ajit Jogi and his son cast their votes at a polling booth in Pendra.
Polling at Kawardha resumes
Polling at the four centres of Kawardha resumed after the technical glitch was rectified.
Polling remained affected for 15 minutes.
10 per cent voting till 9 am
The state saw 10 per cent voting till 9 am.
Voting stopped at four centres in Kawardha
Voting has stopped at four centres in Kawardha, due to a technical glitch in the EVMs.
Chief Minister Raman Singh was to vote at one of these centres.
1.54 lakh voters and 19,296 booths
The election commission has set up 19,296 polling booths in the second phase of assembly election.
A total of 1,079 candidates are in the fray in the second phase of the Chhattisgarh assembly election 2018. The BJP and the Congress have fielded 72 candidates each for the second phase.
Voting will end at 5 pm in all 72 assembly constituencies in Chhattisgarh. These constituencies are located in central and north Chhattisgarh.
Of 72 assembly seats, nine seats are reserved for the Scheduled Caste and 17 for Scheduled Tribe candidates. Rest 46 are unreserved seats.
There are nearly 1.54 lakh voters including more than 77,000 men and over 76,000 women. A total of 940 voters belong to the third gender in the second phase.
Raipur City South assembly segment has the maximum number of contestants -- 46 candidates are contesting from this seat.
Bindranavagarh seat has got only six candidates -- the lowest number for any seat in the second phase.
Seats to watch out for
Kasdol: Assembly Speaker Gaurishankar Agrawal versus Shankutala Sahu, a fresh face from the Congress
Bilha: Dharamlal Kaushik, the Chhattisgarh BJP president
TRIANGULAR CONTEST
Kota: Renu Jogi of JCC-J, the sitting MLA against Vibhor Singh of the Congress and Kashi Sahu of the BJP
Akaltara: Chunnilal Sahu of the Congress - the sitting MLA - against Richa Jogi - the daughter-in-law of Ajit Jogi - as BSP candidate and Saurabh Singh of the BJP
MINISTERS IN CONTEST
Raipur City South: Brijmohan Agrawal
Raipur City West: Rajesh Munat
Bilaspur: Amar Agrawal
Baikunthpur: Bhaiyyalal Rajwade
Pratappur: Ramsevak Paikra
Mungeli: Punnulal Mohile
Bhilai Nagar: Prem Prakash Pandey
Dayaldas Baghel (Nawagarh): Prem Prakash Pandey
Kurud: Ajay Chandrakar
Marwahi: Ajit Jogi against fresh faces from the BJP -- Archana Porte - and the Congress -- Gulab Singh
A three-way contest
The Chhattisgarh assembly election 2018 was thought to be a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress but the alliance between the BSP of Mayawati, Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) of former Chhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi and the CPI is expected to make it a triangular contest, at least in some pockets.
The Chhattisgarh assembly has a total of 90 seats. The first phase of Chhattisgarh assembly election 2018 witnessed some Naxal-related violence but recorded an impressive 76 per cent voter turnout in the red zone. Tight security arrangements have been made for the second phase of Chhattisgarh assembly election 2018 as more than 1 lakh security personnel have been deployed in the poll-bound districts. The BJP is eyeing a fourth consecutive term for the Raman Singh government while the Congress is hoping to make a comeback after a gap of 15 years in the state.
Of the 72 seats where voting takes place today, the BJP had won 43 in the 2013 polls. The Congress had secured 27 seats while the BSP and Independent had won one seat each.
The counting of votes will be held on December 11 along with other poll-bound states of Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram.