Lok Sabha polls: BSP releases first list of two candidates for Chhattisgarh

Raipur, The Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Friday released its first list of candidates for two of the 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh, a party functionary said. The Lok Sabha polls will be held in three phases in the state on April 19, April 26 and May 7.

On the direction of BSP national president and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati, candidates for Janjgir-Champa and Bastar Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh have been announced, former BSP's state president Hemant Poyam told PTI.

As per the list, the party's Janjgir-Champa district unit president Dr Rohit Kumar Dahariya has been fielded in Janjgir-Champa (Scheduled Caste reserved), while former sarpanch Aaytu Ram Mandavi has been given the ticket from Bastar (Scheduled Tribe reserved) seat, he said.

Mandavi had unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha elections from Bastar in 2009 and 2019, he said. In the last general elections, the BJP won in 9 constituencies, with the remaining two seats going to Congress.

The BSP had contested the assembly elections last year in coalition with the Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP) in the state but all its candidates, including sitting MLAs Keshav Prasad Chandra and Indu Banjare, tasted defeat. The GGP managed to bag one seat.