In what could spell trouble for the ruling Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken lead over it, with votes being counted for the recently held Chhattisgarh assembly election, the polling for which took place on November 7 and 17, with a turnout of 76.31% across the two phases, marginally lower from the previous 2018 polls.
It must be noted, however, that these are early trends; more conclusive trends will emerge later in the day.
In December 2018, the state elected its first non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in 15 years; the Congress stormed to power with 68 seats in the 90-member assembly, while the saffron party, which was in power here under Raman Singh’s leadership since the first assembly election, in December 2003, was reduced to just 15 seats.
Bhupesh Baghel became the state’s second Congress chief minister; the late Ajit Jogi was the first person to hold the top post. Chhattisgarh was carved out of its neighbour, Madhya Pradesh, in November 2000.
Exit polls for the current election, meanwhile, have projected that the grand old party will get another term, though with a reduced tally as compared to the previous 2018 polls. The results, however, may or may not be line with the projections made by exit polls.
