RAIPUR: A senior tribal leader and minister, Kawasi Lakhma, who never received formal schooling, to an MBBS doctor from the Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP), an Ayurvedic physician turned former chief minister Raman Singh, are among the 233 aspirants testing their electoral fortunes in the first phase of polls in Chhattisgarh on November seven.
Known for his outspoken and unique communication style, Kawasi Lakhma is a five-time legislator from the Maoist insurgency-hit Sukma district in the tribal Bastar region.This time, he will be contesting for the sixth time from the Konta (ST) constituency.
Hailing from one of the country’s most remote, backward, and Maoist-affected districts in Sukma, located in the tribal Bastar region, the state’s industry and excise minister, Kawasi Lakhma (65), never attended school and had no formal education. When taking oath as a minister in December 2018, he was unable to read his oath and instead repeated the oath of office as read out by the then-Governor Anandiben Patel, which led to trolls on social media. Later, he explained that his experiences at the “University of Hard Knocks” had helped him serve the people.
Lakhma is competing against Soyam Mukka of the BJP and Communist leader Manish Kunjam in an apparent triangular contest. Kunjam is running as an independent this time as he did not receive the CPI’s official symbol, the “Ears of Corn and Sickle,” due to a technical issue after the CPI lost its national party status.
Dr. Santosh Maria (50), a candidate from the Gondwana Gantantra Party in the Khairagrah constituency, holds a medical degree, and Dr. Raman Singh, a candidate from the Bharatiya Janata Party, and a three-time chief minister, holds a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) degree. There are 48 other candidates with post-graduate qualifications.
Out of the candidates in the fray, 51 are graduates or above, 54 candidates are non-graduates who have completed their education up to the higher secondary school level, 12 candidates have completed high school, 25 candidates have completed junior high school, and three are only literate, meaning they can only sign their names.
Meanwhile, the former chief minister Raman Singh, aged 71, is the eldest candidate this year. There are also five candidates who are 25 years old and testing their electoral fortunes.”
Known for his outspoken and unique communication style, Kawasi Lakhma is a five-time legislator from the Maoist insurgency-hit Sukma district in the tribal Bastar region.This time, he will be contesting for the sixth time from the Konta (ST) constituency.
Hailing from one of the country’s most remote, backward, and Maoist-affected districts in Sukma, located in the tribal Bastar region, the state’s industry and excise minister, Kawasi Lakhma (65), never attended school and had no formal education. When taking oath as a minister in December 2018, he was unable to read his oath and instead repeated the oath of office as read out by the then-Governor Anandiben Patel, which led to trolls on social media. Later, he explained that his experiences at the “University of Hard Knocks” had helped him serve the people.
Lakhma is competing against Soyam Mukka of the BJP and Communist leader Manish Kunjam in an apparent triangular contest. Kunjam is running as an independent this time as he did not receive the CPI’s official symbol, the “Ears of Corn and Sickle,” due to a technical issue after the CPI lost its national party status.
Dr. Santosh Maria (50), a candidate from the Gondwana Gantantra Party in the Khairagrah constituency, holds a medical degree, and Dr. Raman Singh, a candidate from the Bharatiya Janata Party, and a three-time chief minister, holds a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) degree. There are 48 other candidates with post-graduate qualifications.
Out of the candidates in the fray, 51 are graduates or above, 54 candidates are non-graduates who have completed their education up to the higher secondary school level, 12 candidates have completed high school, 25 candidates have completed junior high school, and three are only literate, meaning they can only sign their names.
Meanwhile, the former chief minister Raman Singh, aged 71, is the eldest candidate this year. There are also five candidates who are 25 years old and testing their electoral fortunes.”
