BJP, Congress announce candidates for Chitrakoot Assembly bypoll; voting on 9 November

Bhopal: The ruling BJP and opposition Congress has announced candidates for the bypolls to Chitrakoot Assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh scheduled to be held on 9 November. Congress has fielded Nilanshu Chaturvedi against BJP’s Shankardayal Tripathi in the Assembly segment, which lies bordering Uttar Pradesh. [caption id=“attachment_4166215” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] The bypoll was necessitated following the death of Congress MLA Prem Singh in May this year. Talking to PTI, state Congress spokesman KK Mishra said on Sunday, “The party has decided to field Nilanshu Chaturvedi from Chitrakoot.” BJP’s state media in-charge Lokendra Parashar informed that Shankardayal Tripathi would be the party’s official candidate for this bypoll. “The party has fielded a grassroots party worker, Shankardayal Tripathi, who held different posts in Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) and BJP’s district unit,” Parashar said. According to an Election Commission official, the voting for bypoll in Chitrakoot Assembly segment under Satna district will take place on 9 November, while its counting would be held on 12 November. The process of filing the nominations had begun on 16 October and will continue till 23 October. Sitting Congress MLA Prem Singh had passed away after prolonged illness on 29 May this year. He was 65. Singh was a three-time MLA from Chitrakoot, from where he had won in 1998, 2003 and 2013.