The exit polls for Chhattisgarh predicted that the opposition BJP will gain some lost ground in the Lok Sabha elections. It had faced a crushing defeat in Chhattisgarh in the assembly polls last year. If the exit polls are any indication, the last minute push of the BJP, which saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi making all efforts to win the state, appears to have paid off.
The exit polls of News18-IPSOS has predicted 7 -9 seats for the BJP and 2-4 for the Congress. The India Today-Axis MY India exit poll is a dampener for Congress as it is predicted to win only five out of 11 seats. The Chanakya News 24 exit poll estimated that the BJP will bag 9 seats and Congress 2. According to the Republic TV-CVoter exit poll, BJP will get six seats and Congress 5.
Following its defeat in the 2018 Assembly elections, Chhattisgarh became another laboratory for BJP with the party fielding all fresh faces in the polls. If the exit polls are any indication, it seems the BJP’s plan not to give tickets to the 15 MLAs who won last year's polls, not to grant tickets to 53 candidates who lost the assembly poll and not to entertain the 10 sitting MPs of 2014 has paid rich dividends.
The Congress had swept the Assembly elections held in November 2018, winning 68 out of 90 seats, reducing the BJP to just 15 seats in a state it had ruled for 15 years.
The BJP had pitched fresh candidates and removed party stalwarts from electoral battle to beat anti-incumbency. In the campaign, the saffron party projected national security as an issue.
In his rallies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reiterated ‘mazboor vs mazboot sarkar’ (indecisive vs strong government) theme. However, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel was banking on the farmers' loan waiver announced by him immediately after taking charge to ensure a win for Congress in the LS polls
Chhattisgarh went to polls in three phases -- April 11, April 18, April 23.