Raipur, Dec 3 (UNI) The counting of votes began for all 90 Assembly
constituencies of Chhattisgarh on Sunday for revealing the electoral
fortunes of 1,181 candidates, amid heavy three-tier security
arrangements that included the deployment of a large number of CRPS
personnel.
The official time for the commencement of the crucial democratic
process, which is being videographed, was 8 am.
It was officially learnt that 90 returning officers; 416 assistant
ROs; 4,596 counting personnel and 1,698 micro-observers were appointed
in addition to the 90 counting observers designated by the Election
Commission.
As per the established protocol, postal ballots have been taken up
first and the electronic voting machines will follow at 8:30 am. Media
centres have also been set up at all the counting centres.
Chhattisgarh witnessed two-phase polling on November 7 and 17
respectively. The ruling Congress and the principal opposition BJP are
in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation.
In the 2018 Vidhan Sabha polls, the regional outfit Janata Congress
was in a tie-up with the Bahujan Samaj Party and registered their
combined presence as a third force but they went separate ways this
time round. The Aam Aadmi Party was also in the fray.
The key contestants are Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel (Patan), his
deputy Tribhuvaneshwar Saran Singh Deo (Ambikapur), BJP Vice President
and erstwhile chief minister Raman Singh (Rajnandgaon), Union Minister
of State for Tribal Affairs Renuka Singh Saruta (Bharatpur-Sonhat),
BJP state head Arun Sao (Lormi), Assembly Speaker Charan Das Mahant
(Sakti) and Leader of the Opposition Narayan Chandel (Janjgir-Champa).
UNI AS-AC SSP ARN