Advani to launch BJP poll campaign in Chhattisgarh Thursday

Raipur, Oct 15 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani will launch the party's poll campaign in Chhattisgarh Thursday.

Advani will address a public rally in Bilaspur town, 110 km from here, in the afternoon and will preside over a meeting of state leaders in the state capital Raipur.

The BJP-ruled state goes to polls in two phases - Nov 14 and 20 - to elect a new 90 member state assembly.

Thirty nine seats will be contested in the first phase and 51 in the second phase.

In the present state assembly, the BJP has 52 members, the Congress has 34, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have one seat each while two seats are vacant.