Chattisgarh Assembly Elections 2023: Check number of seats, candidates, constituencies, past winners and more

Chattisgarh Assembly Elections 2023:Voting for the first phase of Assembly polls commenced in Chattisgarh on Tuesday (Nov 7).

Here's everything you need to know about the first phase of Chattisgarh Assembly polls.

Number of Seats, Candidates & Voters

Chattisgarh is a relatively young state. It has seen only four Assembly elections, the first held in 2003.

There are 90 seats in the Chattisgarh Assembly. Out of these, 20 constituencies will vote on Tuesday (Nov 7). The first phase of voting will decide the fate of 223 candidates. The Election Commission of India has set 5304 polling booths for the first phase, expecting a voter turnout of 40,78,681 voters.

The state has 29 constituencies reserved for Scheduled Tribes and 10 for Scheduled Castes.

The first phase of voting will also occur in two slots. Between 7 am and 3 pm, voters in Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Konta will cast their vote. Meanwhile, between 8 am and 5 pm, voting will take place in Khairagarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Pandariya and Kawardha Bastar, Jagdalpur and Chitrakot.

History of Chattisgarh Assembly elections

The fight in all four elections was always between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC). Parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Janta Congress Chhattisgarh have won one to three seats in the last four Chattisgarh Assembly elections.

From 2003 to 2018, the BJP dominated the Assembly election results. However, INC won the election with an overwhelming margin in 2018, securing 71 seats against 13 for the BJP. The previously narrowing victory margins widened from 0.74 per cent in 2014 to 10 per cent in 2018. This gap also showed in the vote shares of the BJP and INC. In 2003, the vote shares of both parties were very near to each other. However, in 2018, the gap between the vote shares of BJP and INC broadened by 11 per cent.

Currently, Chattisgarh is being governed by the Congress party, with Bhupesh Baghel serving as the Chief Minister.

Women in Chattisgarh Assembly elections

A total of 25 women candidates have participated in the first phase of Chattisgarh Assembly elections. In 2018, there were 13 women winners compared to 5 in 2003, 10 in 2008 and 2013. Although the proportion of women candidates has plunged since 2008, the number of women candidates winning has increased.

(With inputs from agencies)

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