Raipur: BJP today scored a hat-trick of wins in Chhattisgarh Assembly elections winning 46 of 90 seats, thwarting Congress' bid to wrest power after a decade. The saffron party is ahead in another three seats, while Congress has pocketed 39 and is leading in none.
Bahujan Samaj Party and an Independent have won a seat each.
Despite a tangible sympathy factor for the Congress in the wake of the massacre of 27 of its leaders and workers, including state party chief Nand Kumar Patel and tribal strongman Mahendra Karma, it failed to capitalise on it beyond the tribal Bastar region.
Of the 12 seats in Bastar, Congress won eight. BJP had secured 11 of these seats in 2008. Kawasi Lakhma, the sole Congress MLA from Bastar in the last elections and one of the survivors of the Darbha massacre retained his seat, while Mahendra Karma's wife Devti wrested Dantewada from BJP.
The defeat of the Leader of Opposition, prominent tribal leaders and several sitting MLAs in the plains rocked the Congress boat. Leader of Opposition Ravindra Choubey, a six-time MLA from Saja, lost.
Prominent tribal leader Rampukar Singh, a 7-term ML from Patthalgaon, also lost and so did Congress stalwart and a tribal leader Bodhram Kanwar.
Similarly, another popular tribal leader Premsai Singh Tekam lost to BJP state President Ramsewak Paikra from Pratappur. Son of former chief minister of undivided Madhya Pradesh Shyamacharan Shukla and sitting MLA from Rajim constituency Amitesh Shukla too fell by the wayside.
Reacting to the defeat, Union Minister and state Congress chief Charandas Mahant said there appeared an "internal sabotage" behind the defeat of his prominent party leaders. "This is democracy and we consider it a bad luck that our big leaders about whose victory we were sure had to face defeat. It also indicates some internal sabotage," he said.
Though Raman Singh scored an easy victory from Rajnandgaon, several of his ministers including Home Minister Nankiram Kanwar and Deputy Speaker of Assembly Narayan Chandel lost. Prominent ministers who lost included Agriculture Minister Chandrashekhar Sahu, Water Resources Minister Ramvichar Netam, Sports minister Lata Usendi and Panchayati Raj Minister Hemchand Yadav.
A high-profile Congress winner was Amit Jogi, son of former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi. Amit trounced Sameera Paikra of BJP by 46,250 votes from Kota. Veteran Congress leader Motilal Vora's son Arun too defeated BJP's Hemchand Yadav in Durg city.
However, Health Minister Amar Agrawal won Bilaspur, Housing and Environment Minister Rajesh Munat emerged victorious from Raipur city west, Forest Minister Vikra Usendi from Antagarh and Tribal Welfare Minister Kedar Kashyap from Narayanpur seat.
