Raipur: With the assembly polls drawing closer, political activities in the state have intensified, including increased visits by national leaders to Chhattisgarh. On Thursday, Mallikarjun Kharge, the National President of the Congress Party, arrived in Raipur for a two-day visit.
Congress leaders warmly welcomed their national leader at Raipur airport on Thursday evening. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and his cabinet ministers were also present to greet Kharge.
Sources have revealed that Kharge will preside over a meeting of the Political Affairs Committee with senior Congress leaders to decide on the first list of Congress candidates. The meeting is scheduled to take place at the Mayfair Hotel in Naya Raipur on Thursday night.
The Congress's first list of candidates will be officially announced on September 8. Leading Congress figures in Chhattisgarh have begun to gather at the hotel in preparation for the meeting. Congress Chhattisgarh In-charge Kumari Selja had previously hinted that the first list of Congress candidates would be unveiled after September 8.

BSP becomes first party to declare list
In the context of declaring the first list, BSP has become the first party in the state to declare its list, with BJP being the second. Now it is time for Congress to declare its list, as Ashok Tomar, a political analyst, stated.
Meanwhile, on the second day, he will address a public meeting in Rajnandgaon, which is the electoral constituency of former Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh. The objective of organizing a public meeting for Kharge is to polarise scheduled caste votes in favor of the Congress party.
Before this public meeting, Kharge had already addressed a public meeting last month called 'Bharose ka Sammelan' in Janjgir-Champa to further the polarization of scheduled caste votes towards the Congress party.

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