Chhattisgarh Elections: Ahead of the counting of votes in the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, Congress candidate from Raipur West Vikas Upadhyay, was seen reciting Hanuman Chalisa. The Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government in the state is seeking to retain the state but is expected to receive tough competition from the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has left no stone unturned to topple the current government in the state.
The BJP and Congress are in direct battle in the state. Congress is looking to retain power in the state whereas the saffron party has left no stone unturned in its attempt to unseat the grand old party. Tight security arrangements have been made in all counting centres in the state's 33 districts, including the ones affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE), officials said, as reported by news agency PTI.
The polling in the state was held in two phases, and both phases were marred with violence. During the first phase, gunfight between security forces and Maoists were reported from at least three places, in which two security forces personnel sustained injuries. During the second phase, a soldier of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police was killed in an IED blast while escorting polling officials in the Gariaband region.
Chhattisgarh, which has 90 assembly seats, has been a hotbed of political activity, with its political landscape dominated by a diverse range of ideologies and parties.
In the 2018 polls, the Congress swept the polls winning 68 seats, leaving the BJP, which had ruled since 2003, a distant second with 15 seats.
While the main battle is between the Congress and BJP, a three-way contest can be seen in several seats of the Bilaspur division where former CM Ajit Jogi's party and the BSP have pockets of influence. The Aam Aadmi Party is also seeking to earn a toehold in this division.