India Today-Axis My India exit poll has projected a close contest between the BJP and Congress in Chhattisgarh. As per the survey, the BJP is expected to get 36-46 seats while Congress may bag 40-50 seats - 18 down from what the grand old party had got in 2018. In the last election, the COngress had won 68 seats while the BJP was restricted to just 15.
If the exit poll projections hold true, this would be a big blow as Congress had expected to win 50-plus seats. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is the top choice among people for the top post while former CM Raman Singh is leading the chart from the BJP, according to the survey.
Ahead of the poll, the Congress, which wrested Chhattisgarh from the BJP in 2018, appeared to be placed comfortably in the eastern state. In the 2018 elections, the grand old party decimated the saffron party by winning 68 of 90 seats with 43 per cent vote share. Then Chief Minister Raman Singh-led BJP, which ruled the state for 15 years, could manage to win just 15, recording a loss of 34 from what the party had won in the previous poll. BJP's vote percentage was also down from 41 per cent to 33 per cent.
Chhattisgarh is expected to see a two-cornered contest between the BJP and Congress even though four other parties are under the fray. Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party and Gondwana Ganatantra Party are contesting together on 90 seats. Amit Jogi-led Janta Congress Chhattisgarh is contesting on 77 seats, and Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party is fighting on 53.
In this election, the BJP is expected to do better but may fall short of a majority. An opinion poll conducted by ABP News-CVoter in November predicted 45-51 seats for the Congress and 36-42 seats for the BJP. After the polling, a famous satta bazar from Rajasthan projected 50 seats for Congress and 37 for the BJP.