Chhattisgarh (CG) Assembly Election Results 2018 Live Updates: Congress poised to wrest power from BJP after 15 years

Chhattisgarh (CG) Assembly Election Results 2018 Live Updates: The counting of votes on 90 Assembly seats in Chhattisgarh has started. This is being viewed as a prestige battle for three-term Chief Minister Raman Singh of the BJP and the opposition Congress' fight for resurgence. The stakes are high for all contending parties including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and former chief minister Ajit Jogi's party and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)-led alliance in the Maoists affected the state. According to exit poll results, it is predicted to be a high-octane battle in Chhatisgarh where the fate of as many as 1,269 candidates is at stake. Chhattisgarh had headed for polling in two phases on November 12 and November 20. The tenure of the current Assembly is slated to end on January 5, 2019. 46 seats are required to secure a simple majority.

While the BJP is seeking a fourth straight term in office, the Congress is aiming to stage a comeback after being out of power for 15 years. This time, the coalition between BSP and Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) and Communist Party of India (CPI) added another dimension to the poll politics of Chhattisgarh, which has always been dominated by the BJP and the Congress. Several exit polls have predicted a neck-and-neck fight between the big two. According to the Election Commission (EC), tight security arrangements have been made at the counting centres in all 27 districts, particularly the Naxal- affected ones, where voting was held in two phases on November 12 and 20 to elect a new 90-member Assembly. The state had recorded 76.60 per cent voter turnout in the polls.

The counting of postal ballots started at 8 am and half-an-hour later the process of counting votes from the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) starts. As many as 5,184 counting personnel and 1,500 micro- observers have been appointed for smooth conduct of the process. Of the 90 Assembly segments, 51 are for general category while 10 segments are reserved for Scheduled Castes and 29 for Scheduled Tribes. During campaigning, the Congress tried to build a narrative against the BJP by highlighting issues such as "misrule" and "agrarian distress". Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had announced that his party would waive crop loans of farmers within ten days of coming to power in Chhattisgarh. 

Here's a look at how these major parties performed during the previous Assembly Elections held in the state in 2013: BJP - 49 seats [54.44 per cent vote share] Indian National Congress (INC) - 39 seats [43.33 per cent vote share] BSP - 1 seat [1.11 per cent vote share] Independent - 1 seat [1.11 per cent vote share].