Chhattisgarh by-polls 2022: Voting begins in Bhanupratappur on Monday

Amid heavy security, polling for the byelections in Maoist-hit Bhanupratappur Assembly constituency of Chhattisgarh will be held on Monday.

Seven candidates are in the fray for the bypolls in the constituency, which is reserved for the Scheduled Tribes.

The byelection has been necessitated after the death of Congress MLA and Deputy Assembly Speaker Manoj Singh Mandavi due to a heart attack on October 16.

All preparations have been completed for conducting a free and fair byelection in Bhanupratappur on December 5. The polling time is from 7 am to 3 pm," an official said here on Sunday.

According to poll officials, 1,95,678 voters, of which 95,186 men, 1,00,491 women and one third gender person will exercise their franchise.

A total of 356 polling stations have been set up, of which 239 are in rural areas and the rest in the urban part of the constituency, they said.

The counting of votes will take place on December 8.

Polling parties were dispatched to their respective booths on Sunday morning under strict supervision of the security forces, the official said.

Around 2,500 security personnel, including paramilitary forces, have been roped in for polling in Bhanupratappur, which is a part of Bastar division, a senior police official said.

Seven candidates are in the fray for the bypoll, though it is largely seen as a direct contest between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP.

The Congress has fielded deceased MLA Manoj Singh Mandavi's wife Savitri, while the BJP nominee is former MLA Brahmanand Netam.

Sarva Adivasi Samaj, an umbrella body of tribal communities in Bastar, has also fielded its candidate, former Indian Police Service Officer Akbar Ram Korram, who is contesting as an Independent.

Korram retired as a deputy inspector general (DIG) in 2020.

The Congress' campaign was led by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, while BJP national vice-president Raman Singh and state unit chief Arun Sao campaigned for the main opposition party.

A highlight of the campaign was the allegation of rape levelled by the Congress against BJP candidate Netam.

The Congress has claimed Netam is an accused in a rape case of a teen girl registered in Telco police station in Jamshedpur in neighbouring Jharkhand in 2019.

The Congress claimed that by nominating Netam, the BJP was giving a message that it was at the forefront of protecting such "criminals".

The BJP, on its part, said the allegations were being levelled as the Congress was anticipating defeat in the bypoll.

The Congress highlighted what it claimed were pro-farmer and pro-tribal measures taken by the Bhupesh Baghel government, including the launch of the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana, the cow dung procurement scheme and distribution of forest rights certificates.

The BJP countered it by saying the state government had failed to protect reservation benefits of the Scheduled Tribe communities in the state.

Senior political analyst R Krishna Das said the campaign for the bypoll was virtually low profile, but the ruling Congress was seen keen on winning the seat where Baghel extensively campaigned and promised to fulfill the dreams of deceased MLA Mandavi for the development of the area.

Though the outcome of the bypoll will not have any impact on the government, victory could be a booster for leaders and workers of the ruling party ahead of the state Assembly elections next year," he said.