BJP announces first list of 77 candidates for Chhattisgarh polls, fields Raman Singh from Rajnandgaon seat

New Delhi: The BJP Saturday released its first list of 77 candidates for the Chhattisgarh Assembly polls, fielding Chief Minister Raman Singh from the Rajnandgaon seat. Among the 77 candidates announced out of a total of 90 Assembly segments, 14 are women candidates and 14 sitting MLAs have been replaced with new names, Union minister JP Nadda said. The list was finalised at the BJP’s central election committee meeting that was chaired by party president Amit Shah and attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi among others. Among those fielded by the BJP include former IAS officer OP Chaudhary and tribal leader Ramdayal Uike, who recently left the Congress and joined the BJP. Chhattisgarh will go to polls in two phases on 12 November and 20 November. The votes will be counted on 11 December. The BJP also released a list of 38 candidates for the Telangana Assembly polls. There are a total of 119 Assembly candidates in the state. The party also released a list of 13 candidates for the Assembly polls in Mizoram.