KENKAR: The candidates of the ruling Congress and opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) filed nominations on Thursday, the last day, for the December 5 Bhanupratappur Assembly byelection in Chhattisgarh. The seat, reserved for Scheduled Tribes, falls in Kanker district of the Maoist-affected Bastar division.
Congress’s Savitri Mandavi, the wife of the deceased incumbent MLA Manoj Singh Mandavi, was accompanied by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, state Congress chief Mohan Markam and other senior leaders as she filed her papers.
आज मुख्यमंत्री @bhupeshbaghel और प्रदेश अध्यक्ष @MohanMarkamPCC जी भानुप्रतापपुर उपचुनाव में कांग्रेस प्रत्याशी श्रीमती सावित्री मंडावी जी के नामांकन कार्यक्रम में शामिल हुए।
5 दिसंबर का दिन होगा
पंजा चुनाव चिन्ह होगा।#जीतेंगे_भानुप्रतापपुर pic.twitter.com/VwQQqiXPOu— INC Chhattisgarh (@INCChhattisgarh) November 17, 2022
People of Bhanupratappur have vowed to ensure Mandavi’s victory by a record margin, Baghel said.
The BJP has lost all four bypolls held in the state after the 2018 Assembly polls and this time too it will taste defeat, the CM said.
BJP nominee Brahmanand Netam also filed his nomination on Thursday. He was accompanied by former chief minister Raman Singh, state BJP chief Arun Sao, BJP MLA Brijmohan Agrawal and other leaders.
भानुप्रतापपुर विधानसभा उप-चुनाव के प्रबल एवं लोकप्रिय दावेदार श्री ब्रह्मानंद नेताम जी ने भाजपा प्रदेश अध्यक्ष श्री @ArunSao3 जी, भाजपा राष्ट्रीय उपाध्यक्ष @drramansingh जी, नेता प्रतिपक्ष श्री @narayan_chandel जी सहित अन्य वरिष्ठ नेताओं की मौजूदगी में अपना नामांकन भरा। pic.twitter.com/qa6uqlDA9e
— BJP Chhattisgarh (@BJP4CGState) November 17, 2022
As many as 39 candidates have filed their nominations for the Bhanupratappur bypoll.
The byelection became necessary after the death of Congress MLA and deputy speaker of the Assembly Manoj Singh Mandavi (58) due to a heart attack on October 16 this year.
छत्तीसगढ़ में कांग्रेस पार्टी के अंत का पहला मुहर भानुप्रतापपुर में ब्रम्हानंद नेताम जी की जीत से लगेगा… – @drramansingh जी, भाजपा राष्ट्रीय उपाध्यक्ष. pic.twitter.com/NboVFsBRoF
— BJP Chhattisgarh (@BJP4CGState) November 17, 2022
He had represented Bhanupratappur assembly segment three times; was first elected as a legislator in 1998 in undivided Madhya Pradesh. A prominent tribal leader from northern Bastar, he had also served as minister of state for home and prisons during the Ajit Jogi-led Congress government in the state between 2000 and 2003.
Savitri Mandavi (56) recently quit her job as a government school teacher after deciding to stand for the election. Brahmanand Netam is a former MLA.
Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are not contesting the byelection.
Counting of votes will be held on December 8.
The Congress currently holds 71 out of 90 Assembly seats while the BJP has 14.
Source: Press Trust of India
