Chhattisgarh polls is ‘popularity test’

raipur — Eighteen of the 90 assembly constituencies in Chhattisgarh where Maoists hold sway will vote on Monday, heralding the biggest popularity test involving five states ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha battle.

Both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the main opposition Congress are equally confident of winning the election, the second and final phase of which will be held on November 19.

Chief Minister Raman Singh says the people of Chhattisgarh, carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000, are sure to give his government a third five-year term because of the way he has developed the state.

“Development is the key issue, I tried my level best and it’s for the voters to decide,” Raman Singh said Saturday evening, soon after campaigning ended in the 18 constituencies.

The Congress’ key campaigner and Chattisgarh’s first chief minister Ajit Jogi feels the BJP will be ousted. “The Congress is set to make a grand comeback in Chhattisgarh because the state has witnessed a massive rise in Maoist violence and also corruption during BJP rule,” he said.

A total of 143 candidates will be in the fray on Monday, their fate to be decided by about 2.9 million voters. The sprawling region going to the polls Monday includes Bastar region, which with around 40,000 sq km is bigger than the size of Kerala, and the neighbouring Rajnandgaon district. —