Chhattisgarh Assembly Election 2018: What caused BJP's humiliating defeat

In the first phase of its Assembly election on November 12, Chhattisgarh witnessed a 70 per cent voter turnout in tribal areas. It was clear the voters in tribal areas had something to say. 

Forest areas are intrinsic to the existence of tribals. In 2006, Parliament recognised “historic injustice” in denying traditional rights over forest resources to forest dwellers nationwide and passed the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, or FRA. In 2015, the claim was rejected and rolled back. Add to this little or no development in these areas.

The effect on the election outcome was dramatic. 

During the elections in 2013, the BJP won 11 of the 29 seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST), eight fewer than in 2008 when it won 19 (of the 90 Assembly seats). Among seven constituencies with a tribal population of more than 70 per cent, the BJP won just one seat in 2013, compared to five in 2008. In this election, the BJP’s ST hold has gone down further.

The Congress did well in Scheduled Caste (SC) areas as well. The party won seven of the 10 seats reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates. SC residents, largely settled in the plains, make up roughly about 12 per cent of the state’s population. They are called Satnamis, the community that especially supports former chief minister Ajit Jogi. Jogi’s presence in the polls made a bigger difference than is commonly thought.  The BJP managed to win only two SC seats this time, seven fewer than what it had won in the last polls. 

Source: Election Commission, media reports