Sting operation fails to prevent lotus from blooming

Despite the sting operation against Judeo, BJP gained in Chh'garh riding on the crest of an anti-Jogi wave.

Notwithstanding a sting operation involving a potential Chief Minister, BJP's lotus bloomed in Chhattisgarh riding on the crest of an apparent anti-Ajit Jogi wave and making deep inroads into the Naxal and tribal belt to put in power a saffron government in the new state.

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In an election which witnessed a record turnout of 70.3 per cent, though the vote share of both main political rivals - BJP and Congress - depleted, the saffron party improved its tally by 14 seats while 11 in Congress' kitty were reduced as compared to their performance in the 1998 election.

BJP, which had polled 40.12 per cent votes in the 1998 polls in the Chhattisgarh portion of the undivided Madhya Pradesh, recorded 38.83 per cent of votes polled this time. However, the swing in Congress vote percentage was more with party registering 35.8 per cent votes compared to 40.65 in the last election.

The depletion in Congress' share of vote percentage could be gauged from the fact that newly-incepted NCP registered a vote percentage of 7.38.

NCP along with BSP (4.4 per cent) definitely dented the prospects of the Congress.

Though NCP polled 7.38 per cent of votes, it could bag a solitary seat while the BSP, which had secured 5.77 per cent votes in the last election, saw its tally of three being reduced to two this time.