Chhattisgarh Exit Polls Give Bhupesh Baghel's Congress a Slight Edge Over BJP

Two exit polls have predicted a close contest in Chhattisgarh, with the Congress led by chief minister Bhupesh Baghel having a narrow edge.

The ABP-CVoter Exit Poll has predicted a range of 41 to 53 seats for the Congress in the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly as compared to 36 to 48 seats for the BJP.

In terms of vote share, CVoter has predicted 43.4 percent votes for the Congress and 41.2 percent for the BJP.

The Axis MyIndia-India Today Exit Poll has predicted an even more narrow lead for the Congress. According to this poll, the Congress could be in the 40-50 seat range while the BJP can win 36 to 46 seats.

In terms of vote share too, the predicted lead is narrower - 42 percent for the Congress against 41 percent for the BJP. The BSP is at 6 percent and others at 11 percent.

Republic's P-Marq Matrize survey has predicted 34-42 seats for the BJP and 44 to 52 for the Congress. This range is similar to the CVoter and Axis polls.

The Today's Chanakya-News 24 Exit Poll, however, has predicted a clear majority to the Congress, giving it 57 seats against 33 for the BJP.

It is interesting that except for the Today's Chanakya exit poll, in all the other polls even a BJP win is within the margin of error.

Another Term for Baghel?

In 2018, the Congress had secured a massive majority in Chhattisgarh, winning 68 out 90 seats in the state. It brought an end to 15 years of BJP rule under the leadership of Dr Raman Singh. Bhupesh Baghel, who was the state Congress chief was made the chief minister, picked ahead of TS Singh Deo.

In his five years as CM, Baghel introduced a number of pro-people welfare schemes and promoted 'Chhattisgarhiya pride'. He also became a prominent OBC face for the Congress and played a key role in the party's Assembly election campaigns in Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Assam.