Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections: These 5 Congress leaders can replace Raman Singh as CM, click here to know them

Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections 2018: According to News Nation Exit Poll, the Congress party is in a position to end Chief Minister Raman Singh's uninterrupted 15-year-rule in Chhattisgarh. The Congress is likely to get 40 to 44 seats in the 90-member strong Assembly of Chhattisgarh with 41 per cent of votes. The BJP is likely to get only 38 to 42 seats in the Assembly with 38 per cent of votes. The exit poll results clearly give an edge to the Congress party in the hung Assembly scenario. When asked about their preferred choice for the chief minister's position, around 18 per cent picked Congress state chief Bhupesh Baghel as their first choice after Raman Singh. The incumbent chief minister was the choice of 33 per cent of voters. According to Republic-C-Voters, India Today-Axis My India and News 24-Pace Media exit polls also, the Congress is going to be the single largest party in Chhattisgarh. However, the Congress didn't contest the elections with any chief ministerial candidate. Let's discuss who can be the Congress chief minister in Chhattisgarh, in case the party gets the majority.

 

 

Charan Das Mahant: He was the chief of the state unit in 2008 but couldn't stop Raman Singh in getting his second consecutive term. He was also a minister in the Digvijaya Singh Cabinet and also became the Cabinet minister under prime minister Manmohan Singh. Mahant was the member of Lok Sabha from Janjgir seat in 1998 and 1999. He is one of the frontrunners for the chief minister's post. He is contesting from Sakti Assembly constituency this time. 

 

Tamardhwaj Sahu: He is known to be a close associate of Congress president Rahul Gandhi and currently the only Lok Sabha member of the party from Chhattisgarh. He had won the Durg Lok Sabha seat in 2014 by defeating BJP leader Saroj Pandey. He also heads the OBC cell of the party. Sources in the party believe that he could be the chief minister if the Congress party gets a majority on its own in the state. He is contesting from Durg Rural Assembly seat.

Satyanarayan Sharma: He is considered as a 'dark horse' in the party. He is also one of the candidates for the chief minister's position. He was the minister in the ministries of both Digvijaya Singh and Ajit Jogi. Sharma is contesting from Raipur Rural constituency. Sharma defeated BJP's Nande Sahu in the 2013 Assembly elections by a margin of 1,800 votes.