Eight ministers, Speaker among 28 BJP MLAs who lost in C'garh

Twenty-eight sitting MLAs of the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) including eight ministers and the Assembly Speaker have bitten the dust in the Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh.

Home Minister and tribal leader Ramsevak Paikra lost to Congress' Premsai Singh Tekam by 44,105 votes.

Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Bhaiyyalal Rajwade was trounced by Congress' Ambika Singh Deo in Baikunthpur seat by 5,339 votes.

Urban Administration Minister Amar Agrawal was defeated by Congress' Shailesh Pandey by 11,221 votes in Bilaspur.

Public Works Department Minister Rajesh Munat suffered defeat at the hands of Congress' youth leader Vikas Upadhyay by 12,212 votes in Raipur City West constituency.

Two prominent ministers from Bastar region, Mahesh Gagda (Bijapur) and Kedar Kashyap (Narayanpur), also tasted defeat.

Kashyap was defeated by Congress' Chandan Kashyap by a margin of 2,647 votes while Gagda lost to Congress' Vikram Mandavi by 21,584 votes.

Cooperative Minister Dayaldas Baghel was defeated by Congress' Gurudayal Singh Banjare by 33,200 votes while Higher Education Minister Premprakash Pandey lost to Congress' Devendra Yadav in Bhilai Nagar by 2,849 votes.

Chief Minister Raman Singh retained Rajnandgaon seat bydefeating the niece of former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Karuna Shukla, who was the Congress nominee, by 16,933 votes.

BJP minister Ajay Chandrakar won from Kurud, defeating independent candidate Neelam Chandrakar by 12,317 votes.

Agriculture Minister Brijmohan Agrawal won from Raipur City South, defeating Congress' Kanhaiya Agrawal by 17,496 votes.

Food and Civil Supply Minister Punnulal Mohile retained Mungeli seat.

The BJP had denied ticket to one of its ministers, Ramsheela Sahu, who was MLA from Durg Rural. The BJP fielded Jageshwar Sahu from the seat, but he lost against Congress' Tamradhwaj Sahu.

Other prominent BJP leaders who lost included Speaker Gaurishankar Agrawal (Kasdol seat), MP from Kanker Lok Sabha seat Vikram Usendi (Antagarh) and O P Chaudhary (Kharsia).

Chaudhary, an IAS officer, had resigned as Raipur collector before the polls and joined the BJP.

Congress MLA Ramdayal Uike who quit the party ahead of the polls and joined BJP lost from Pali-Thankar.

While the Congress put on an impressive show overall, eight of its sitting MLAs lost as well. The party won 68 of the 90 seats, reducing the ruling BJP to 15 seats and ending the saffron party's 15-year reign.