New Delhi:
Elections to the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly were conducted in two phases on November 12 and 20. While Chief Minister Raman Singh is fighting a 15-year strong anti-incumbency in the state, the Congress is leaving no stone unturned to come back to power this time around. But former chief minister and Congress rebel Ajit Jogi's Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (JCC)'s alliance with Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has led another important angle to emerge in the state which recorded an overall voter turnout of 76.35 per cent.
In September, Mayawati announced an alliance with Jogi's party. The move came as a big blow to the Congress which had been making efforts to build a nation-wide alliance against the BJP. Jogi left the Congress in 2016 and floated his own party. The four members of the Jogi family belong to three political parties. While Jogi and his son are in the JCC(J), Jogi's wife and daughter-in-law are in the Congress and the BSP, respectively.
Here are the live updates of Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections results 2018:
PL Punia, Congress in Chhattisgarh: We humbly accept the mandate by the people. They have not given us the right, they have given us a responsibility. They believed the promises we made in our manifesto. People trusted the words of Rahul Gandhi ji&gave us an agenda, we accept it. pic.twitter.com/ihq9m1kHrp
— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2018
Raman Singh, outgoing CM of #Chhattisgarh: We respect the mandate that the public has given. I congratulate Congress on this success. I consider it my luck to serve the public of Chhattisgarh for the last 15 years. #AssemblyElectionResults2018 pic.twitter.com/LPFjO9wgoD
— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2018
Bhupesh Baghel, Chhattisgarh Congress President: This is a victory of democracy. BJP had a lot of money & a team of corrupt officers, they also had conspirators in their pocket. Despite all of this, the mandate given by the people in Chhattisgarh is historic. pic.twitter.com/azcBZqvgKM
— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2018
Outgoing Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh: I have tendered my resignation to the Governor. #AssemblyElectionResults2018 pic.twitter.com/6X84HXuIeq
— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2018
5:42 pm: I have tendered my resignation to the Governor, says Chhattisgarh's outgoing Chief Minister Raman Singh.
5:38 pm: Raman Singh concedes defeat in Chhattisgarh, takes full responsibility of BJP's rout in the state.
Chhattisgarh Congress President Bhupesh Baghel and workers celebrate in Raipur. #AssemblyElectionResults2018 pic.twitter.com/lJ7bY3ajui
— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2018
3:42 pm: Congress candidate Devati Karma is leading from Dantewara constituency in Chhattisgarh.
3:41 pm: Congress candidate Vinay Kumar Bhagat is leading from Jashpur constituency in Chhattisgarh.
3:40 pm: Congress candidate Kawasi Lakhma is leading from Konta constituency in Chhattisgarh.
3:35 pm: Congress leader Charan Das Mahant is leading from Sakti constituency in Chhattisgarh.
Newly elected Congress MLAs of Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan will meet in Raipur and Jaipur respectively tomorrow. #AssemblyElections2018 pic.twitter.com/PtJTzAzQbX
— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2018
3:32 pm: Congress: 69, BJP: 11, JCC: 09, Others: 01
Chhattisgarh Congress President Bhupesh Baghel arrives at Congress office in Raipur. He says, “Ppl of Chhattisgarh took the fight in their own hands. We are grateful to Rahul Gandhi, we fought for the ppl. We got more seats than expected, high command will decide who will be CM” pic.twitter.com/i5B8Js0gXR
— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2018
3:30 pm: Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel is leading from Patan constituency in Chhattisgarh, likely to be next Chief Minister of the state.
3:28 pm: BJP candidate Nanki Ram Kanwar is leading from Rampur constituency in Chhattisgarh.
3:26 pm: According to ECI website, Ajit Jogi's wife Renu Jogi is leading from Kota constituency in Chhattisgarh.
3:25 pm: Congress candidate Rampukar Singh Thakur is leading from Pathalgaon constituency in Chhattisgarh.
Chhattisgarh: #Visuals from Bharatiya Janata Party office in Raipur. BJP is leading on 15 seats while Congress is leading on 61 seats, out of the total 90 seats in the state. #AssemblyElections2018 pic.twitter.com/AxmHnhvqHm
— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2018
2:00 pm: According to ECI, Congress vote share is 43.5% in Chhattisgarh till now. BJP is at 32.1%. Ajit Jogi's JCC: 8.7% and BSP: 2.6%.
1:42 pm: BJP candidate Dharam Lal Kaushik is leading from Bilha constituency in Chhattisgarh.
1:40 pm: Congress candidate Devendra Bahadur Singh is leading from Basna constituency in Chhattisgarh
1:25 pm: Congress: 58, BJP: 23, JCC: 07, Others: 02
1:17 pm: Congress candidate Shishupal Shori is leading from Kanker constituency in Chhattisgarh.
1:16 pm: Congress candidate Chandradev Prasad Rai is leading from Bilaigarh constituency in Chhattisgarh.
1:15 pm: Congress candidate Dr Shivkumar Dahariya is leading from Arang constituency in Chhattisgarh
12:58 pm: Congress: 59, BJP: 22, JCC: 07, Others: 02
Congress workers celebrate in Raipur as trends show the party leading in #Chhattisgarh #AssemblyElections2018 pic.twitter.com/DmNTvetTAW
— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2018
12:40 pm: According to ECI website, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh is leading in Rajnandgaon constituency.
12:20 pm: Five ministers in the Raman Singh-led BJP govt in Chhattisgarh were trailing in the Assemlbly polls as per the trending trends, a poll official said on Tuesday.
Brijmohan Agarwal (Raipur City South), Kedar Kashyap (Narayanpur constituency), Mahesh Gadga (Bijapur), Dayaldas Baghel (Nawagarh), Amar Agrawal (Bilaspur) are trailing as per the latest trends.
12:18 pm: Congress: 66, BJP: 17, JCC: 06, Others: 01
12:10 pm: Congress: 64, BJP: 18, JCC 06, Others: 02
11:55 am: Congress: 60, BJP: 21, JCC: 07, Others: 02
11:40 am: Congress leading on 53 seats, BJP leading on 16 seats, Janata Congress on 4 seats, & others on 2 seats in Chhattisgarh: Official ECI trends
11:25 am: Congress: 58, BJP: 24, JCC: 07, Others: 01
11:15 am: Congress leading on 40 seats, BJP leading on 15 seats, Janata Congress on 5 seats in Chhattisgarh: Official ECI trends:
11:10 am: Congress: 58, BJP: 24, JCC: 07, Others: 1
10.32 am: Congress leading on 21 seats, BJP leading on 5 seats, Janata Congress on 2 seats in Chhattisgarh: Official ECI trends.
10.19 am: Congress leading on 13 seats, BJP leading on 4 seats, Janata Congress on 1 seat in Chhattisgarh: Official ECI trends.
Official ECI trends: Congress leading on 13 seats, BJP leading on 4 seats, Janata Congress on 1 seat in Chhattisgarh. #AssemblyElections2018 pic.twitter.com/XhHB2u4ZOF
— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2018
10.10 am: Bhupesh Baghel leads in Patan constituency.
09.58 am: Congress: 57, BJP: 26, JCC: 6
09.50 am: According to official ECI trends, former Chhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi is at the third position at Marwahi. BJP is leading and Congress at second.
According to official ECI trends, former Chhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi is at third position at Marwahi. BJP is leading and Congress at second ( file pic) #ChhattisgarhAssemblyElections2018 pic.twitter.com/fhzR0IZIKl
— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2018
09.34 am: Congress: 54, BJP: 30
09.28 am: Congress: 51, BJP: 32
09.22 am: Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's niece Karuna Shukla takes lead in CM Raman Singh's constituency Rajnandgaon.
09.21 am: Trends out for all 90 seats; Congress takes a majority in 46, BJP in 37, JCC in 5
09.18 am: Congress takes lead in early trends on 46 seats.
09.00 am: According to reports, a ballot box goes missing in Raipur.
08.58 am: 63 of the 90 seats, BJP: 26, Congress: 33
08.47 am: The postal ballot votes indicate a close fight between BJP and Congress.
08.44 am: Congress: 23, BJP: 19, JCC: 1
08.38 am: Congress takes lead with 21 leads, JCC on 1
08.34 am: BJP leading with 17 seats.
08.31 am: BJP leads with 16 seats.
08.29 am: Congress takes a lead with 13 seats.
08.23 am: Congress takes a lead with 9 seats.
08.19 am: Close battle in Chhattisgarh, BJP: 5, Congress: 6
08.14 am: According to early trends, BJP: 1, Congress: 1, JCC: 1
08.05 am: Postal vote being counted first.
8.00 am: Counting of vote begins.
07.30 am: Tight security has been deployed at the counting centres in all 27 districts, especially the Naxal-affected ones. As many as 5,184 counting personnel and 1,500 micro-observers have been appointed.
07.22 am: Ajit Jogi along with the BSP can play a role of the kingmaker and is likely to get four to eight seats in the Assembly, as per Exit Poll results.
07.20 am: According to Exit Polls results, the Congress is likely to emerge as the single largest party with 40 to 44 seats.
07.15 am: According to Exit Polls results, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to lose Chhattisgarh this time.
07.18 am: Raman Singh is the longest serving BJP chief minister.
06.52 am: Visuals from outside a counting centre in Raipur.
Visuals from outside a counting centre in Raipur. Counting of votes for #ChhattisgarhAssemblyElection2018 will start at 8 am today. pic.twitter.com/yxbCQnywhS
— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2018
06:45 am: The counting of votes for Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections 2018 will start at 8 am.
Read More | Assembly Election Result Live Updates 2018: BJP, Congress engage in close fight
The first phase of elections at 18 Assembly segments across the eight Naxal-hit districts took place on November 12. According to Election Commission of India, a voter turnout of between 60-70 per cent was recorded at the Bastar division and the Rajnandgaon district under the shadow of the Maoist threat. In the second phase of polling held on November 20 in the 72 Assembly seats, the voter turnout was recorded at 71.93 per cent. The overall turnout was less by nearly three per cent as compared to the last elections, according to the top election body.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to lose Chhattisgarh this time, according to Exit Poll results declared on December 7. As per the News Nation Exit Poll, the BJP is likely to get only 38 to 42 Assembly seats. The Congress is likely to emerge as the single largest party with 40 to 44 seats. Jogi along with BSP can play a role of the kingmaker and is likely to get four to eight seats in the Assembly. The BJP is projected to get 38 per cent votes, while the Congress is likely to get 41 per cent of votes. The Jogi-led alliance is projected to get 13 per cent of votes. In 2013, the BJP had won 49 seats with 41.04 per cent of votes.
Also Read | Rajasthan Election Result 2018 Live Updates: Vasundhara Raje faces resurgent Congress
Apart from Raman Singh and Ajit Jogi, Congress' state chief Bhupesh Bhagel is one of the top contenders for the post of chief minister. Baghel was a minister in the Digvijaya Singh Cabinet in undivided Madhya Pradesh. He contested the polls from the Patan Assembly constituency.
