Raipur: The process of filing nominations in the three Maoist-affected parliamentary constituencies of Rajnandgaon, Kanker and Mahasamund, which go to polls on April 17, began with the issuing of a notification here on Wednesday.
As per the notification, the polling time in the seven assembly constituencies of Pandariya, Kawardha, Khairagarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon and Khujji of Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha region would be from 7 am to 6 pm, while in rest of the single Mohla-Manpur assembly constituency, polling would be between 7 am and 4 pm.
Similarly, four assembly constituencies of Sihawa, Sanjari-Balod, Daundilohara and Gundardehi of Kanker would witness polling from 7 am to 6 pm, whereas the time of polling in the rest of the Maoist-hit assembly constituencies of Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker and Keshkal would be from 7 am to 4 pm. The time of polling in Mahasamund seat would be from 7 am to 6 pm.
The final date for filing nominations for these seats has been announced as March 26, while scrutiny of nominations would be completed on March 27 and contestants may withdraw their names until March 29.
Over 15.80 lakh voters would exercise their franchise in Rajnandgaon, besides 15.11 lakh voters in Mahasamund and 14.42 lakh voters in Kanker.
BJP`s Dinesh Kashyap filed his nomination from the Bastar Lok Sabha seat today, while BSP`s Kanhaiya Lal Sahu filed his nomination from Mahasamund, an official said.
Final date for filing nominations for Bastar seat has been fixed for March 22 and scrutiny of nominations would be completed on March 24. Contestants can withdraw their name till March 26.
Chhattisgarh would see three-phased polling for its 11 Lok Sabha constituencies next month.
The Maoist-hit Bastar (ST) constituency alone would witness polling on April 10, while three other Maoist-hit constituencies of Mahasamund (Gen), Kanker (ST) and Rajnandgaon (Gen) would go to polls on April 17.
The rest of the seven Lok Sabha seats like Surguja and Raigarh (ST), Janjgir-Champa (SC) Raipur, Durg, Korba and Bilaspur (Gen) would see polling on April 24.
