Assembly Election 2018: Congress ends BJP's rule in Chhattisgarh, set to wrest Rajasthan, legislature party meets today to pick CM

Assembly Election 2018: With the victory, the Congress will form the next government in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

Congress workers waves the party flag to celebrate the party's performance in Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh (PTI)

Assembly Election 2018: Months ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party on Tuesday delivered a severe blow to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Hindi heartland, dislodging the saffron party out of power in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. Besides, BJP was just two seats short of the majority in Madhya Pradesh where the two parties were locked in a nail-biting contest throughout the day. With the victory, the Congress will form the next government in Chhattisgarh, ending the BJP's 15-year reign in the tribal state. The Congress has won 66 seats and is leading in two more in the 90-member Assembly, while the BJP has been relegated to a distant second spot, winning just 15 seats, according to the results available at 5.30 am on Wednesday. On the other hand, the party is set to wrest Rajasthan from the BJP after its candidates were on Tuesday declared elected on 99 seats of the 199 that went to the polls. As the Congress neared the majority mark of 100, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje submitted her resignation to Governor Kalyan Singh. Watch Video- The ruling BJP in the state bagged 73 seats, Bahujan Samaj Party won six, Bhartiya Tribal Party won two, the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party three, the CPI(M) two and the Rashtriya Lok Dal one. Independents won 12 seats and were leading on one more as the focus in Rajasthan shifted on who would be the Congress choice for chief minister between two-time CM Ashok Gehlot and the party's state unit president Sachin Pilot. With one winner yet to be declared, the Congress vote share was 39.3 per cent, a half percentage point ahead of the BJP. In the 2013 assembly elections, the Congress' vote share was 33.07 per cent. The newly-elected Congress legislators will meet today to discuss who would be the chief minister. The All India Congress Committee has sent K C Venugopal as an observer to the state.