BJP Fields Radheshyam Rathiya From Chhattisgarh's Raigarh (Image: Facebook/Radheshyam Rathia)

The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) has announced candidates for all 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh. Radheshyam Rathiya is the party candidate in the electoral battle in Raigarh Lok Sabha constituency. Notably, Lok Sabha elections in Chhattisgarh will be held on April 19, April 26, and May 7.

Raigarh constituency is the home turf of Vishnu Deo Sai, the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. Vishnu Deo Sai represented this Lok Sabha constituency in 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014. Raigarh is the sitting seat of the saffron party, as Gomati Sai secured this seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls by a margin of 66,027 votes. The BJP has a significant presence in the Raigarh constituency, as the party has not lost this constituency in the last 25 years.

Radheshyam Rathiya has worked in many positions in the BJP and has represented panchayat bodies in the past. The BJP leader is currently serving as the district president of the Scheduled Caste Morcha. Radheshyam Rathiya was also the former president of the Gharghoda District Panchayat.

Radheshyam Rathiya is a powerful tribal leader, and Raigarh is one of the tribal dominated regions. It is worth mentioning that the tribal community comprises around 32 percent of the state”s population. In the 2019 general elections, the BJP won nine of the 11 constituencies in Chhattisgarh.