Chhattisgarh urban body polls: Congress fields more Muslim candidates than BJP

RAIPUR: The participation of minorities in the electoral process are not usually seen as encouraging despite their assumed role in playing unspecified determining, may be small, in the fortune of political parties.

Chhattisgarh is yet again into the season of polls after the 2023 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. And the poll-battle in the upcoming urban body is likely to be bipolar with a direct fight between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress across the state.

The political parties are seen in the middle of the campaign after the distribution of tickets in which the minorities apparently got a better share from Congress than the BJP.

Out of the 542 wards going to polls for electing the Corporations in the Chhattisgarh urban bodies, the Congress has given tickets to 40 Muslim candidates while only four from the community get tickets of the saffron party.

The urban body elections in 10 municipal corporations, 49 municipalities, and 114 nagar panchayats are scheduled for 11th February, with the counting of votes set for 15th February.

In Raipur municipal corporation, among the 70 wards, the BJP has not given any ticket to Muslim while the opposition has selected five seats for Muslims.

Overall, the Congress has given tickets to nine candidates in Bilaspur, five in Raipur, seven in Ambikapur, two in Chirmiri, two in Durg, three in Jagdalpur, three in Rajnandgaon, two in Raigarh and one in Dhamtari. The BJP has fielded one candidate belonging to Muslim community each in Bilaspur, Durg, Ambikapur and Raigarh to contest for election for a Corporator. 

The Congress has given 7.38 per cent of its tickets to Muslim candidates and the BJP’s share for Muslim faces is 0.73 per cent. It remains to be seen how the caste and winnability factors of the Muslim candidates as calculated by respective parties are going to turn the table on their rivals with allegations and appeals.

BJP's manifesto titles 'Atal Vishwas Patra' was recently released by the Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai while the Congress president Deepak Baij unveiled the party’s 34 promises in its manifesto, titled ‘Jan Ghoshna Patra’.