BJP faces tough fight in Chhattisgarh by-poll

RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is facing a tough challenge from the Congress to retain the Sanjari Balod assembly seat in the Feb 14 by-election.

The Congress lost the Sanjari Balod seat in Durg district by a few hundred votes in November 2008 to BJP’s Madanlal Sahu, who died following cardiac arrest in August last year.

Kumari Bai Sahu, widow of Madanlal Sahu, is contesting from the seat that is dominated by Other Backward Class (OBC).

“It’s a real battle we are facing in Sanjari Balod. Last time too, the seat witnessed a close contest,” BJP leader Brijmohan Agrawal, who is also the party’s election in-charge for the seat, told IANS.

The Congress has again bet on Mohan Patel, who belongs to the OBC community, and had almost pulled off a victory in November 2008.

“The Congress will win comfortably this time. We are highlighting the BJP’s misrule, its corruption and scandals as the main poll issues. We are also telling people about how the BJP has choked development in Sanjari Balod,” said state unit Congress general secretary Ramesh Varlyani.

The result will be announced Feb 17.