Modi factor will not work in Assembly polls: Chhattisgarh DY chief minister

TS Singh Deo said the Modi factor will not work in the state as he is not a pivotal factor as far as Chhattisgarh politics is concerned

Congress leader TS Singh Deo, who is the deputy chief minister of Chhattisgarh, has said that the BJP's plan to make Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "star campaigner" in the Assembly elections will not be a  "deciding factor" in results,  according to a report by India Today.

Deo told India Today TV channel the Modi factor will not work in Chhattisgarh as he is not a pivotal factor in the state's politics The BJP  has over the years lost Assembly polls in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal where PM Modi had campaigned for the party.

Deo said the Congress would release its candidate list around October 12, after the end of Pitra Paksha, a period when Hindus pay homage to their ancestors.

The party had implemented its promised policies in the state and was ready for the upcoming polls.  "We are more than ready. Not over-confident, but certainly confident. We have delivered on the ground," he said.

Chhattisgarh Assembly polls date
 

Chhattisgarh will vote in two phases - on November 7 and 17 - and the results will be announced on December 3, said Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Monday. In the first phase,  elections will be held in 20 Assembly seats while the remaining 70 constituencies will go to polls in the second phase.

Chhattisgarh has 90 Assembly constituencies. Its term ends on January 3, 2024. The Congress is yet to release a list, whereas the BJP has released two lists of candidates for the Chhattisgarh elections.

In 2018, the Congress secured a landslide victory, winning 68 seats against the ruling BJP's 15 seats. This marked a significant shift in power as the Congress formed the government after spending 15 years as the opposition party.