Chhattisgarh Polls: Actor, Riot Victim Among BJP's Second List of 64 Candidates

The BJP released its second list of candidates, just hours after poll dates were announced.

The BJP has also fielded its state party president and Bilaspur MP Arun Sao to contest the elections from the Lormi seat.

(Photo Courtesy: X/@ArunSao3)

A film actor, a father who lost his son to communal violence, and two former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers are among the list of candidates who will be contesting on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket in the upcoming Chhattisgarh Assembly elections.

The BJP released its second list of 64 candidates on Monday, 9 October, just hours after Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced the poll dates for five states, including Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Mizoram.

The Chhattisgarh polls for over 90 Assembly seats are scheduled to be held in two phases on 7 November and 17 November 2023, the Election Commission of India announced on Monday.

The BJP's list includes three members of Parliament. Renuka Singh, an MP from the Surguja constituency, has been given a ticket to contest from the Bharatpur-Sonhat seat. Meanwhile, Raigarh MP Gomti Sai has been fielded from Pathalgaon.

The BJP has also fielded its state party president and Bilaspur MP Arun Sao to contest the elections from the Lormi seat. The party also fielded Raman Singh, a three-term former CM, from his stronghold Rajnandgaon.

The Opposition party which plummeted to 15 out of 90 seats after a successful three-term regime under former CM Raman Singh in 2018, has announced its candidates for 85 out of the total 90 seats so far.

It has fielded 15 female candidates till now, including the ten female candidates whose names were declared in the second list. 

The five remaining seats are Bemetara, Pandaria, Kasdol, Ambikapur, and Beltara Assembly constituencies.

BJP's Mixed Bag of Candidates

While the BJP has announced its candidates for all four high-profile seats in the state capital of Raipur, it has also fielded 77-year-old Nankiram Kanwar from his Rampur seat which is reserved under the Schedule Tribe (ST) category.

A former minister, Nankiram is at the helm of the BJP's campaign against the alleged fraud in the recruitment process for the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission. 

The BJP has also fielded Ishwar Sahu, father of Bhunehswar Sahu, a 23-year-old youth killed in the communal violence which erupted in April 2023 in Chhattisgarh's Bemetara district. 

Another highlight of the party's second list is the candidature of Chhattisgarh-based actor Anuj Sharma who has been fielded from the Dharasiwa constituency. 

Analysts suggest that Sharma's candidature is a strategic move by the BJP to appease the Brahmin community. Historically, Brahmin candidates have performed well in this region. though Anuj Sharma's nomination faced some pushback after an unsubstantiated list featuring BJP candidates went viral.

Anuj Sharma enjoys a good following among the masses due to his long and celebrated acting career in the Chhattisgarh film industry; however, his political appeal will be tested in the upcoming elections. 

Two bureaucrats, Neelkanth Tekam and OP Choudhary, are also among the BJP's 85 candidates for the upcoming state Assembly polls.