Chhattisgarh Election Date: The state is all set to vote for its next Chief Minister as the Election Commission (EC) on Monday announced the full schedule for the upcoming assembly polls. In a press conference, EC announced that the polling in Chhattisgarh will take place in two phases. The first phase of polling for 20 seats in Chhattisgarh will take place on November 7, 2023. The remaining 70 seats in the state will go to polls on November 17. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar in the press conference announced that the counting of votes for all five states will take place on December 3.
The Election Commission in a press conference said that five state assemblies of Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana will go to polls on different days beginning November 7 and the votes will be counted on December 3.
Will Baghel be able to protect his citadel?
Talking about the poll scenario, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel (from Congress) who is in power is hoping to protect his citadel of Chhattisgarh in the upcoming assembly polls. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is in opposition in the state is making an aggressive push to regain lost ground. The saffron party is also trying to force a close contest to avoid a 2018-like rout.
AAP challenging its well-entrenched rivals
As BJP and Congress in the state remain the most dominant political forces, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is making a determined bid to challenge its well-entrenched rivals and make a mark in polls to the 90-member House.
Chhattisgarh Assembly Election Results 2018
In the last polls, the Congress won 68 of the total 90 assembly seats, while the BJP finished a distant second at 15. The Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J), founded by former CM late Ajit Jogi, bagged five seats and its ally Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won in two segments.
The Congress had polled 43.04 per cent votes, around 10 per cent more than the BJP (32.97 per cent) in 2018. The ruling party further consolidated its hold in the state with victory in bypolls held for five assembly seats after 2018. The Congress tally currently stands at 71.
The BJP currently has 13 seats in the House, JCC(J) has 3 and the BSP has 2 seats. One seat is currently lying vacant. The Congress is aiming to win 75 seats in 2023 by riding high on the popularity of Baghel, who has a significant hold over OBC and rural voters, and impact of the government's welfare schemes focused on farmers, tribals and the poor.
