C`garh polls: 10 women candidates emerge winners

Raipur: A total of 10 women candidates, one less than last time, have emerged victorious in Chhattisgarh Assembly polls where the saffron party is back in power for the third time.

During the 2008 Assembly polls, 11 women candidates out of 94 in fray had won, an election official told a news agency. Among the ten women winners, six candidates are from BJP, while four are from Congress, including former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi`s wife Renu Jogi. "Ten out of the 85 women candidates fielded in the two-phase Chhattisgarh Assembly polls have registered victory," the official said. The winners from BJP are - Champa Devi Pawle, Suniti Satyanand Rathiya, Kerabai Manhar, Rupkumari Chaudhary,?Ramshila Sahu and Sarojani Banjare. From Bharatpur-Sonhat constituency of Koriya district, the ruling party`s new face, Champa Pawle defeated Gulab Kamro of Congress by 4,608 votes. Another fresh party nominee, Sarojani Banjare defeated Thaneshwar Patila of Congress by 4,684 votes from Dongarhgarh seat of Rajnandgaon district. From Lailuna constituency of Raigarh district, Suniti Satyanand Rathiya won over prominent Congress leader and sitting MLA Hridayaram Rathiya by 14,201 votes. Kerabai Manhar won Sarngarh seat of Raigarh district against sitting woman MLA of Congress Padma Ghanshyam Manhar by 15,844 votes. Women candidates have been preferred for the Sarangarh Assembly constituency as no men have won the election there since the formation of the state.