In Chhattisgarh, electioneering for the 72 assembly segments going to polls in the second phase of elections comes to an end this evening. As many as 842 candidates, including 75 women, are in the fray for Tuesday's polls. Security arrangements have been beefed up in the assembly constituencies bordering the forest areas of Odisha and Jharkhand where Maoists have a presence.

Polling parties have already moved to the Maoist affected constituencies in Gariaband and Mahasamund districts and in many constituencies in the northern part of the state.

Congress has pitched in union ministers Jainram Ramesh, Chiranjeevi and cricketer Azaruddin to canvass support while BJP leaders Ravishankar Prasad and Smriti Irani are campaigning for the BJP.

Meanwhile, congress leader and union minister Jairam Ramesh described the May 25 Maoist attack in Bastar as a “political conspiracy” in which many senior congress leaders were killed. He claimed in Raipur that it appeared to him that there has been an unwritten understanding between the Maoists, BJP government and the RSS”. He alleged that Chhattisgarh was the worst Maoist affected part of the country. If voted to power, he said the Congress government would work to restore the confidence of people in the civil administration.

However, BJP national spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad sought to know from the UPA government why there was a delay in probe by the National Investigating Agency (NIA) into the May 25 Maoist attack. Talking to media persons in Raipur, he welcomed the centre’s decision to honour cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and eminent scientist Dr C N R Rao with Bharat ratna but asked why the centre did not consider former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee with the country’s top civilian honour.