New Delhi:
The Congress government in Chhattisgarh will face its first big electoral test in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections after it swept to power in last year’s assembly polls.
The BJP, which bagged 10 of the 11 Lok Sabha seats in 2014, would want to repeat its performance and is banking on the Modi factor.
However, according to the opinion poll conducted by News Nation on Monday, the BJP is likely to win five seats while the Congress will claim victory on the remaining six seats.
A neck-and-neck fight is expected between the BJP and the Congress, with the former likely to get 41 per cent of the votes and the latter expected to garner 42 per cent of the total votes.
The Congress staged a massive comeback in Chhattisgarh by leading in 67 of the total 90 seats and wresting the state from the BJP, showcasing its best sign of resurgence in the 2018 assembly elections.
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The BJP was reduced to only 18 seats while the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh Jogi-Bahujan Samaj Party (JCCJ-BSP) combine won seven, including that of former chief minister Ajit Jogi.
Polls for 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh will be held in three phases on April 11, 18 and 23.
Naxal-hit Bastar (ST) constituency will be the only seat that will go to polls on April 11, he said.
Polls to Kanker (ST), Rajnandgaon and Mahasamund seats will be held on April 18 in the second phase.
The remaining seven Lok Sabha seats - Surguja (ST), Raigarh (ST), Janjgir-Champa (SC), Raipur, Durg, Korba and Bilaspur will witness polling on April 23.
