RAIPUR: In Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, Congress is striving to retain power for a second straight term while BJP is aiming to again form government in the state.
The Congress registered a landslide victory in 2018 Assembly elections because of the “strong” anti-incumbency against the BJP that had ruled the state for 15 years between 2003 and 2018.
The Congress currently holds 71 seats in the 90-member state Assembly and is aiming to win 75 seats in the upcoming elections riding on the Bhupesh Baghel-led government’s pro-farmers, pro-tribals and pro-poor schemes.
The ruling party is also eyeing to cash in on CM Baghel’s popularity as he has a significant hold over the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and rural voters.
The BJP, which was in power in Chhattisgarh for 15 years under the leadership of Raman Singh, suffered a massive defeat at the hands of Congress in the 2018 Assembly polls.
Apart from strong anti-incumbency, charges of corruption, lack of coordination between party organisation and the government led by it, and OBCs voting in favour of the Congress were attributed as some of the prominent reasons for its defeat five years ago.
There are 90 seats in the Chhattisgarh Assembly. The BJP has declared candidates on 21 seats for the upcoming Assembly polls and most of them are representatives of panchayat bodies, which shows the party is gearing up for the electoral fight with its second-rung leaders replacing the
old faces.