Chhattisgarh Assembly polls: Key parties' vote share over last two decades

As Chhattisgarh heads to polls to elect 90 members of the state's Legislative Assembly with 223 candidates in the fray, the major contenders in the state, Indian National Congress (INC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are in for a tight contest.

The first phase of Chhattisgarh polls is on November 7 and the second phase on November 17. The counting of votes is charted to take place on December 3.

In the 2018 assembly elections, Congress had won 68 seats while BJP managed to secure only 15 seats. The grand old party then came to power after 15 years as the opposition party. Congress’ Bhupesh Baghel is the incumbent chief minister of the state.

In its fight to win back power, BJP has fielded former chief minister Raman Singh from the Rajnandgaon seat and former state ministers Kedar Kashyap, Lata Usendi, Vikram Usendi and Mahesh Gagda in this year’s polls.

In the 2013 assembly elections, BJP had won 49 seats while Congress won 39 seats whereas in the 2008 assembly elections, BJP was voted to power after winning 50 seats while Congress won 38 seats.

With Chhattisgarh gearing up for polls, here is a look at the key parties' vote share in the state over the last 2 decades.