RAIPUR: In the ongoing Chhattisgarh assembly election vote counting, five former ministers who had faced defeat in the 2018 polls but were re-nominated by the BJP this time are currently leading in their respective constituencies, according to data from the Election Commission.
Bhaiyyalal Rajwade (Baikunthpur), Amar Agrawal (Bilaspur), Rajesh Munat (Raipur City West), Kedar Kashyap (Narayanpur), and Dayaldas Baghel (Nawagarh) had served as ministers in the previous BJP government in the state.
Conversely, former ministers Premprakash Pandey (Bhilai Nagar) and Mahesh Gagda (Bijapur), also re-nominated by the BJP despite their previous electoral losses, are currently trailing.
Prominent BJP leader and former chief minister Raman Singh (Rajnandgaon), along with two other former ministers, Brijmohan Agrawal (Raipur city south) and Ajay Chandrakar (Kurud), all three of whom are incumbent MLAs, are leading in their respective constituencies.
Another former minister, Punnulal Mohile, a senior Scheduled Caste community leader from the BJP and a six-term MLA and four-time MP, was renominated from his traditional seat Mungeli. However, he is currently trailing by 1,211 votes against Congress' Sanjeet Banarjee.
(With agency inputs)
