RAIPUR: The window for filing nomination for bypoll on the Bhanupratappur seat in Chhattisgarh closed on Thursday. The ruling party fielded Savitri Mandavi, wife of late Congress MLA Manoj Mandavi. The opposition has fielded Bramhanand Netam for the referendum.
The tribal seat in the Bastar region fell vacant last month following the death of Congress MLA and Deputy Assembly Speaker Manoj Singh Mandavi. The by-poll was announced within a month, after the death of Mandavi, on October 16th. A prominent tribal face of the party in north Bastar region, Mandavi had served as minister of state for home and prisons during the Ajit Jogi-led Congress government in the state between 2000 and 2003.
Savitri Mandavi filed her nomination in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Congress state president Mohan Markam and other ministers and filed her nomination. Savitri resigned from the government job as a teacher in a school in the state capital.
Polling will be held on December 5, while the counting of votes will take place on December 8.