Congress leads in Chhattisgarh elections: Surpassing halfway mark with 57 seats

In a sensational development in the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, the Congress party has crossed the crucial halfway mark, leading with 57 seats as per the early trends. The BJP, on the other hand, is trailing behind with 33 seats. These early results, coming in with postal ballots being counted first, are in line with exit poll predictions that had favored Congress.

Congress’s Promising Performance and BJP’s Response

Congress’s significant lead reflects the exit polls, which overwhelmingly predicted their crossing of the majority mark in the 90-seat Assembly. Raman Singh, BJP veteran and former Chief Minister, urged party workers to stay connected with the counting process in a hopeful tweet. However, only two of nine exit polls had given BJP the 46+ seats required for victory, pointing towards a potential shift in power.

The Foundation of Congress’s Success

The Congress’s success is being attributed to the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who played a pivotal role in rebuilding the party after the 2013 Jhiram Ghati Maoist attack. This attack had a significant impact on the party’s leadership in the state.

Voter Turnout and Election Phases

Chhattisgarh’s elections, conducted in two phases on November 7 and 17, saw a voter turnout of 76.31 percent. While slightly lower than the 76.88 percent recorded in the 2018 polls, it still reflects a robust participation from the electorate.