Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel.
Credit: PTI Photo
The state of Chhattisgarh came into existence in 2000 after being bifurcated from Madhya Pradesh. After the split, both the states were ruled by Congress governments simultaneously - Digvijay Singh in MP, and Ajit Jogi in Chhattisgarh. A popular tribal leader, Jogi went on to lead the state till 2003.
Since then, Chhattisgarh has gone through four Assembly elections and has had both Congress and BJP ruling the roost, respectively.
In this article, we'll discuss how the sitting chief ministers of Chhattisgarh have performed in the Assembly elections, and what can be the expected turnout for the state this poll season.
Ajit Jogi - Congress
This former IAS officer-turned-politician is a formidable name as far as Chhattisgarh politics is concerned. Jogi was considered a close confidante of Sonia Gandhi which paved way for him to become the first chief minister of the newly-carved state till 2003. He fought the Chhattisgarh Assembly polls the same year, however, was defeated by BJP's Raman Singh.
Jogi later split from Congress due to some differences and formed a new party named, Janta Congress Chhattisgarh. He passed away in 2020.
Raman Singh - BJP
The first BJP CM of Chhattisgarh, Raman Singh was elected to the throne in 2003. BJP, under Singh's leadership, nearly clean-swept the 2003 polls winning 50 out of the 90 Assembly seats. Meanwhile, Congress under Ajit Jogi, lost the polls and won only 37 seats.
Chhattisgarh's third Assembly elections were held in 2008. This time too, Raman Singh emerged victorious with BJP's vote share witnessing a slight increase this time - 40.6 per cent - compared to 39.3 per cent in 2003.
The year 2013 saw Chhattisgarh's fourth Assembly elections. Repeating their triumphant streak yet again, BJP won the elections this time as well. However, the picture wasn't rosy this time around. Although BJP had managed to slightly increase its vote share to 42.3 per cent, Congress wasn't lagging behind either. The Grand Old Party increased its vote share to 41.6 per cent -- losing the elections by a meagre 1.3 per cent margin.
Perhaps, this was the first time when Raman Singh started to feel the heat of anti-incumbency. Having said that, Singh is the longest-serving CM of Chhattisgarh - 15 years - with a massive popularity. It remains to be seen what the fate holds for him this time.
Bhupesh Baghel - Congress
Incumbent Congress CM Bhupesh Baghel was sworn-in after 2018 Assembly polls where INC registered a landslide victory over BJP. Congress won a remarkable 68 seats, whereas BJP had to face defeat with just 15 seats falling into its kitty.
The upcoming Assembly polls will decide the future course of not just Congress but CM Baghel as well.
As per poll pundits, the stakes are tilted towards Congress and Baghel this time as well. Besides, Congress' promise of welfare schemes might just click with the Chhattisgarh voters.
(Data and inputs from ECI and IndiaVotes)