Chhattisgarh polls: BJP will form govt with majority, says Raman Singh

Ahead of the counting of votes for the legislative assemblies of four states--Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana--amidst tight security arrangements, former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and BJP leader, Raman Singh said on Sunday that the Bharatiya Janata Party will form the government in the state with a clear majority.

The halfway mark for the 90-member assembly of Chhattisgarh is 46. The counting of votes at designated centres will begin at 8 am.

Speaking to ANI, the senior BJP leader said, "The BJP will form a government with a clear majority in the state. We will have 42-55 seats in the state."

Lashing out at Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel over the alleged corruption, the BJP veteran said that the BJP manifesto, which "connected all the sections of society, will also have a bearing on the poll results in the state".

In Chhattisgarh, exit polls gave Congress a clear edge, showing that the ruling party in the state is poised to return to power with the BJP also expected to put up a good contest unlike in the 2018 polls.

Chhattisgarh went to the polls in two phases on November 7 and 17.

Meanwhile, the counting of votes in Mizoram, which also went to polls along with four other states last month, has been pushed back to Monday, December 4, the Election Commission (EC) informed earlier.

The votes will counted for 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 90 seats in Chhattisgarh, 119 in Telangana and 199 seats in Rajasthan.

In 2018, the Congress won 68 seats in Chhattisgarh and the BJP won 15 seats. Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) won five seats, while the Bahujan Samaj Party won two seats.

The polling in five states, which are in the northern, eastern, and southern parts of the country, came months before the next Lok Sabha polls.