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Assembly election 2018: BJP, Congress in a keenly-fought contest in Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh assembly elections 2018: The election to the 90-member assembly was held in two phases: The first in 18 seats spread across eight Maoist-affected districts on November 12 and the then in 72 constituencies spread across 19 districts on November 20. Votes will be counted on December 11.
Going by the exit polls, Chhattisgarh assembly election 2018 is precariously poised with four out of eight surveys giving the ruling Raman Singh dispensation a slight edge and the rest going with the Congress.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress are tied in a keen contest with Singh eyeing fourth consecutive term as chief minister and the Congress seeking to return to power after 15 years.
The election to the 90-member assembly was held in two phases: The first in 18 seats spread across eight Maoist-affected districts on November 12 and the then in 72 constituencies spread across 19 districts on November 20. Votes will be counted on December 11.
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Also testing his mettle is Congress rebel and Chhattisgarh Janta Congress (CJC) chief Ajit Jogi, who has teamed up with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party.
He is hoping to regain chief ministership — which he lost to BJP’s Raman Singh in 2003 — or play the kingmaker in case of a hung assembly on the back of the support from backward communities.
Watch: Raman Singh confident of fourth term in Chattisgarh
But, if the numbers put out by the exit polls are to be believed, Ajit Jogi’s gamble to ally with Mayawati may not have gone as per plans.
The CJC-BSP alliance has been given as little as three seats and a maximum of eight in the 90-member state assembly by exit poll analysts.
As for the poll issues, while the Congress spoke about the Raman Singh government’s alleged failures, the ruling party highlighted what it called its development agenda.
Top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Union minister Smriti Irani, campaigned for the saffron party and highlighted various achievements of the Raman Singh government.
Click here for full coverage on assembly elections 2018
Watch | Exit Polls: Tight race in Chhattisgarh, Can Raman Singh retain crown?
During the campaign for the polls, BJP leaders highlighted how Maoism, which was at its peak during the Congress rule in the state, was contained during the last 15 years and also the development works taken up by the government.
Modi attacked the Gandhi family over allegations of dynasty politics and Shah accused the Congress of peddling lies and misleading the people.
On the other side, the Congress accused the BJP of “failing” to control the Maoist menace and referred to the chit fund and civil supply scams. It also targeted the chief minister’s son Abhishek Singh over his alleged offshore assets.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi had held five rallies and a road show while campaigning for the first phase of the assembly polls. He repeatedly underlined a promise to waive farm loans and reiterated charges of corruption against the central government.
Ever since the state was formed in the year 2000, only two people have served as its chief minister. The first one was Ajit Jogi, who served an incomplete term as chief minister and since then has been looking to make a comeback to the seat of power in the state. The second person to have held that seat has been BJP’s Raman Singh who has held the position for the last 15 years, or three terms, and is looking for a fourth term.
Read | BJP will win assembly elections MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, says Shivraj Singh Chouhan
