The fate of 31 candidates was locked in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during Raipur City South Legislative Assembly by-poll, which concluded peacefully on Wednesday with over 50.50 percent voter turnout. Speaking with ‘The Hitavada’, Raipur Deputy District Election Officer Uma Shankar Bande reported the smooth conduct of the polling. One VVPAT machine was replaced at polling station 131 in the constituency. Senior citizens, women, and young voters participated enthusiastically in the by-poll. Around 50.50 per cent voter turnout was recorded in Raipur City South Legislative Assembly Constituency. The polling was held from 7 am to 6 pm. Minor disputes were reported among the Congress and the BJP workers at some polling stations. BJP candidate Sunil Soni cast his vote at polling stations located in Maharana Pratap Higher Secondary School Budhapara. Congress candidate Akash Sharma along with his family members exercised their franchise at Sundar Nagar Polling Station.

 

It was seen that the BJP workers and the Congress workers toiled hard at the last moment of the voting to woo voters at the polling stations. Polling took place across 266 stations, with ten stations managed by female polling staff and five “Adarsh” stations supervised by young officials. One station was exclusively staffed by specially-abled personnel. A direct contest was held between BJP candidate Sunil Soni and Congress candidate Akash Sharma. During the 2023 assembly elections, the Raipur City South recorded a voter turnout of 60.48 per cent. BJP’s Brijmohan Agrawal secured a commanding 69.48 percent vote share, while Congress candidate Mahant Dr. Ramsundar Das garnered 26.42 percent. Agrawal’s election to the Lok Sabha from the Raipur constituency left the assembly seat vacant, necessitating this by-poll. Strict security was in place with five companies of security forces deployed to ensure a free and fair election. Live monitoring was carried out in 227 polling stations. The constituency has a total of 2,71,169 registered voters, comprising 1,33,800 men, 1,37,317 women, and 52 individuals from the third gender.