‘Congress’ second list for Chhattisgarh polls gives representation to every section of society’

Of 83 candidates declared so far (out of 90), 14 are women and 32 are new faces, Chhattisgarh Congress chief Deepak Baij said

Raipur: The Congress’ second list of 53 candidates for the next month’s Chhattisgarh assembly elections gives representation to every section of society, the ruling party’s state unit chief Deepak Baij said here on Wednesday.

The party has heeded the preferences of its workers in the selection too, he said.

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The applications of ticket aspirants were considered seriously and selection was done on the basis of winnabilty, Baij told reporters here.

Of 83 candidates declared so far (out of 90), 14 are women and 32 are new faces, he noted.

Mahant Ramsundar Das of the famous Dudhadhari Math in Raipur has been fielded from Raipur South seat, he added.

The Congress will achieve the target of winning 75-plus seats, Baij said.

Every section including “Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes and general category, women and sant-mahatma” have been given opportunity, he said.

He also took a swipe at the BJP for fielding old-timers including former ministers, and alleged that these people had exploited the state for 15 years (when the saffron party was in power).

The Congress government fulfilled 95 percent of the promises made in 2018, he claimed.

State BJP spokesperson Vimal Chopra, on the other hand, said Chief Minister Baghel had tried to put the blame on Congress MLAs for the failures of his government. So far 18 Congress MLAs (who have been denied ticket) have been made “scapegoats,” he said.