Chhattisgarh: BJP's Vijay Baghel eying 2nd consecutive win in Durg

DURG: In phase three of Lok Sabha polling, which is scheduled to take place on May 7, Chattisgarh's Durg will also go to the polls along with six other parliamentary constituencies in the state.

The BJP has once again reposed faith in its incumbent MP, Vijay Baghel, who, in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, won the Durg seat by a margin of around four lakh votes by trouncing its Congress rival Pratima Chandrakar. This time, the Congress has fielded Rajendra Sahu.

In the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, only Bastar voted on April 19, while voting in Rajnandgaon, Mahasamund, and Kanker was concluded on April 26. In the third phase (May 7), voting will take place in the remaining seven seats: Surguja, Raigarh, Janjgir-Champa, Korba, Bilaspur, Durg, and Raipur.

In the 2019 elections, the BJP won 9 out of the 11 seats in Chhattisgarh, while Congress bagged the remaining two.

Durg, which is one of the 11 parliamentary constituencies in Chhattisgarh, is a General category seat and consists of Bemetara and the entire Durg district.

Durg has nine Legislative Assembly segments and includes Patan, Durg Rural, Durg City, Bhilai Nagar, Vaishali Nagar, Ahiwara, Saja, Bemetara, and Nawagarh.

In March, after the BJP announced the candidature of Vijay Baghel from Durg Lok Sabha seat, he expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that the party will win this seat by an even bigger margin.

"I would like to thank PM Modi, National President JP Nadda, and Home Minister Amit Shah. With the faith they (BJP leadership) have shown in me and the people of Durg, I assure them that we will win this seat with an even bigger margin. In the resolution that PM Modi has taken to lead India to the 3rd position in the global economy, people are with him in this resolution. BJP will cross the 370 mark," BJP leader Vijay Baghel had said at the time.

Whereas, following the announcement of his candidature in March, Congress leader Rajendra Sahu thanked the party high command for putting faith in a "small worker" like him, which would boost and bolster the confidence of fellow party members going into the electoral battle.

Speaking to ANI after being named the Congress candidate from the Durg constituency, Sahu had said, "I would like to thank the high command for putting its faith in a small worker like myself and giving me an opportunity to serve the people of Durg. I believe that my candidacy will boost the confidence of other party workers, including Yuva Congress and NSUI workers, going into the elections."

In 2019, BJP's Vijay Baghel secured 8,49,374 votes while Pratima Chandrakar of Congress garnered 4,57,396 votes. BSP's Geetanjalo Singh secured 20,124 votes. In 2014, Tamradhwaj Sahu of Congress secured victory in Durg.

Some other candidates for the Durg Lok Sabha seat in 2024 elections include Bahujan Samaj Party's Dilip Ramteke, Ekam Sanatan Bharat Dal's Dr. Anju Keme, Gondwana Ganatantra Party's Shankar Thakur and Ambedkarite Party of India's Pushpa Marissa.

The state of Chhattisgarh grapples with several issues, like inflation and unemployment. To please the voters, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, ahead of the Lok Sabah elections in March, said there will be a 4 per cent increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) for government officials in the state.

Hailing 'Modi Ki Guarantee' (Modi's guarantee), the chief minister said the promise of procuring 21 quintals of paddy at Rs 3,100 per quintal has been fulfilled. "PM Modi guaranteed the formation of a five-member committee that will review the demands and problems of contractual workers," he said.