Raipur, November 16: Chhattisgarh is the first of the five states where assembly polls are being conducted. While phase-1 of the elections were completed on November 12 -- when 18 seats were contested -- the remaining 72 constituencies will witness electoral contests on November 20. Here are the key candidates and constituencies to watch out in phase-2 of the polls.

Ajit Jogi (Marwahi): The former and first chief minister of Chhattisgarh was initially reluctant to enter the polling fray, citing his role as the star campaigner of JCC-BSP-CPI alliance. He filed his nomination later from the Marwahi constituency -- which is currently being represented by his son and former Congress leader Amit Jogi.

In Marwahi, Jogi is being challenged by BJP candidate Archana Potre and Congress' Gulab Singh Raj.

The seat has been a traditional bastion of the Jogis. However, the Congress has led a high-octane campaign in a bid to wrest the constituency from the erstwhile party veterans.

Bhupesh Baghel (Patan): The Congress state unit president is contesting from the Patan assembly seat -- from where he has won six times. Except for losing once in 2008 to his nephew and BJP leader Vijay Baghel, Baghel has been winning the constituency since 1993.

This time, the Congress veteran is being challenged by Motilal Sahu of the BJP and Shakuntala Sahu of Jogi's Janata Chhattisgarh Congress (JCC).

Pollsters are firm that if the Congress ends up wresting the state from BJP, Baghel is the first in line to claim the chief ministerial post.

Ram Dayal Uike (Pali Tanakhar): The senior Congress leader ended his 18-year-old association with the party last month, and ended up joining the BJP -- the party he had jumped over from in 2000. He has been fielded by the saffron party from his incumbent constituency - Pali Tanakhar.

From Pali Tanakhar - ST reserved seat - the Congress has given the ticket to Mohit Kerketta. Pollsters, however, consider Kerketta's chances to be bleak as Uike has been representing the seat for three consecutive terms. Among reasons for Uike quitting the Congress were differences with state unit chief Bhupesh Baghel and his exclusion from the screening committee selecting candidates for the polls.

OP Choudhary (Kharsia): The IAS-turned-politician is contesting his first elections on a BJP ticket from Kharsia in Raigarh district. He is pitted against Congress' Umesh Patel, who had won the seat in 2013 with nearly a 50,000-vote margin. The BSP candidate in the fray, Vijay Jaiswal, withdrew his nomination and extended support to Patel, turning the contest into a direct fight between the Congress and the BJP.

Shrichand Sundrani (Raipur City North): In the urban constituency of Raipur City North, the BJP has fielded its incumbent MLA Shrichand Sundrani. In the last assembly polls, Sundrani had wrested the seat from Congress' Kuldeep Singh Juneja by a thin margin of over 4,000 votes.

Sundrani's name was finalised at the end by the BJP, as the party was reconsidering his candidature. The Congress, meanwhile, has reposed faith in Juneja. Notably, the seat has over 25,000 Sindhi voters -- the community to which Sundrani belongs.

Results of the Chhattisgarh assembly elections will be declared on December 11, 2018, along with the outcome of polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 16, 2018 06:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).