The Congress is ahead of the BJP in Chhattisgarh, show the very early trends, which are in line with the exit poll predictions which gave the grand old party a distinct edge over the rival BJP.At 9 am, the Congress was ahead in 50 seats, while the BJP was at 34 with postal ballots the first to be opened."The darkness has dispersed, the sun has risen, the lotus is about to bloom. All workers should stay connected with this counting process because BJP is coming," tweeted Raman Singh, BJP veteran and former Chief Minister, in message to party workers as counting began.
As per early trends so far, CM Bhupesh Baghel who is looking to retain power for the second term is facinf difficulty in his Patan district. The previous assembly elections were held in November 2018. After the election, Indian National Congress formed the state government, with Bhupesh Baghel becoming Chief Minister. The BJP campaign was led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, along with star campaigners Himanta Biswa Sarma, Yogi Adityanath and others.
The saffron party, which had ruled Chhattisgarh for 15 years, has an uphill task besting the Congress, whose vote share rose by 10% in 2018, when the winning margin for the BJP has never crossed 3% since 2003.The BJP manifesto tried to match the promises of the Congress by offering higher procurement price for paddy, along with Rs 12,000 per month to married women and gas cylinders at Rs 500, but the Congress went a step ahead to promise another farm loan waiver, Rs 500 subsidy on gas cylinder refills, as well as Rs 15,000 a month to all women — announced after the first phase of election.