Chhattisgarh polls: BJP performs well in tribal dominated seats

RAIPUR: The BJP, which suffered a huge setback in Chhattisgarh’s tribal-dominated Assembly seats in the 2018 polls, put up a good show this time winning 17 of the 29 seats reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category.

According to poll experts, the public rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda in the tribal belt, launch of the party’s two parivartan yatras from tribal pockets and pre-poll promises worked in the party’s favour in the adivasi belt.

The BJP on Sunday wrested power from the Congress in Chhattisgarh, winning 54 of the 90 seats in the state Assembly, while the grand old party got 35 seats. The Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP) bagged one seat.

In the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly, 29 seats are reserved for the ST category, which comprises around 32 per cent of the state’s population.

The Congress, which won 25 ST-reserved seats in the 2018 Assembly polls, managed to secure just 11 this time.

On the other hand, the BJP significantly improved its tally from 3 in 2018 to 17 tribal-dominated seats this time. One tribal seat was bagged by the GGP.