While both the Congress and the BJP have together given just 25 of the total 180 tickets to women candidates,they have thrown a rookie challenge from constituencies considered bastions of powerful male leaders. At stake are the forts of the Chief Minister,a former chief minister and two powerful ministers. An electoral upset by these first-timer women will be decisive for government formation and a significant dent in vote share would mark a psychological victory. A look at whos pitted against whom. Kiranmayee Nayak vs Brijmohan Agarwal (Raipur South) PWD Minister Agarwal stands among the electoral giants in the state,with an unbroken victory streak for over two decades. He won the last two polls with around 25,000 votes. But Nayak,though a first-timer,is no pushover. The Raipur Mayor has considerable political and popular clout and visibility in the capital. The Congress,in fact,was planning to save this outspoken woman for the parliamentary polls next year and field her against the seemingly invincible BJP MP Ramesh Bais,who has won five consecutive and a total of six Lok Sabha elections in the last seven terms from Raipur. While Agarwal claims his margin will only increase this time,Nayak is aggressively campaigning against the corruption allegations he faces and is capable of a major upset. Both have already had a public showdown when their supporters clashed during a TV show last week. Total voters: 2,04,757 Votes on November 19 Alka Mudaliyar vs Raman Singh (Rajnandgaon) Alka got the ticket after her husband Uday Mudaliyar was killed in the Darbha attack. Although Uday had lost the 2008 polls against Singh,he was widely believed to be a tough opponent this time. While the sympathy wave was lost earlier,Alka is trying hard to revive it by door-to-door campaigning. What goes in her favour is her ability to establish personal contact with voters as she has already completed the first round of campaign through villages and is now fast catching up with urban areas. In contrast,Singh is yet to even begin regular campaign as he remains occupied with state-level management. Alka invokes her husbands martyrdom and stresses that her family remains with local people,while Singh is an outsider. She may still not trump over Singh,but people say he will win not because he is the BJP candidate but because he is the chief minister. In 2008,Singh won by over 30,000 votes and if she is able to make it a tight contest or even dent the lead considerably,Congress says it will be a huge psychological victory against the chief minister. Total voters: 1,80,200 votes on Nov 11 Vani Rao vs Amar Agarwal (Bilaspur) Bilaspur Mayor Vani is the Congress challenge to stalwart Health Minister Amar Agarwal,son of former state BJP chief Lakhiram Agarwal. While this is Vanis first Assembly election,she comes with a formidable political background. Her father-in-law was Congress leader E Nageshwar Rao,the son of E Raghvendra Rao,who was a governor during the British rule. Nageshwars elder brother Ashok Rao was a minister in Madhya Pradesh. The family was considered close to the Arjun Singh camp and Vani was also the Chhattisgarh Mahila Congress president from 2004 to 2011. The first woman Mayor of Bilaspur has the blessings of PCC chief Charan Das Mahant. Agarwal faces a strong wind against him and not just that,his men were arrested for fraudulently transferring farmland to his industry. Bilaspur,once considered the biggest and most prosperous city of Chhattisgarh,today lags behind even Bhilai and Durg in amenities. The city also strives to regain the academic-intellectual status it once held,a factor that can favour an articulate and educated candidate like Vani. Whether she can upset Agarwal,who has won the last two polls,is to be seen. Total voters: 2,23,232 votes on November 19 Sameera Painkra vs Amit Jogi (Marwahi,ST seat) Technically both candidates from this reserved seat are rookies. But Amit Jogi rides on the bastion created by his father and former chief minister Ajit Jogi and hence could be bit too strong for Painkra. Ajit Jogi won the last three consecutive polls from his hometown Marwahi. While Painkra has been a zila panchayat member,like her opponent holds MA,LLB degrees and both belong to the same Kanwar community,she may prove a bit too weak before junior Jogi. The BJP banks on controversies surrounding Amits age and criminal cases pending against him. They also point out that he has lived and worked in Raipur or outside,and has no base in Marwahi. While Amit has been flexing muscles with his NSUI and Youth Congress teams,the challenge before him is not just to retain,but strengthen the family fort. A soft win against a first-timer will prick Jogis pride irreparably. Total voters: 1,68,251 votes on November 19
