Chhattisgarh: Prominent names, including state president and ministers defeated as Congress loses tribal heartland

As the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) makes a grand comeback in Chhattisgarh, many stalwarts of the grand old Congress party have lost their seats in the state election. The list includes prominent leaders of the Congress party, including the Deputy Chief Minister, TS Singhdeo.

Let’s delve into the details of the results of a few prominent Congress party leaders who have lost or have been left behind by their rivals, with a significant margin in the ongoing counting of Chhattisgarh state assembly elections 2023.

Deputy CM T.S Singhdeo

Considered one of the most popular faces in the Chhattisgarh Congress party, Tribhuvaneshwar Saran Singh Deo has been reported to be trailing behind the BJP candidate, Rajesh Agarwal, in the Ambikapur constituency by around 7500 votes after 15 rounds of counting.

TS Deo has been a pillar of the party in the northern regions of the state and has taken many roles for the Congress party from time to time. The titular king of Sarguja was the leader of the opposition before the 2018 state assembly elections and was appointed as the deputy CM in June this year.

Deepak Baij

The state president of Chhattisgarh Congress party, Deepak Baij has lost the election from the high-profile Chitrakot constituency seat of Bastar.

Baij emerged victorious in the 2013 and 2018 state assembly elections from the same seat and was subsequently chosen for Lok Sabha in 2019.

He was looking for a third term from the Chitrakot constituency, a seat reserved for scheduled tribes who make up around 80 per cent of the total population.

Baij was defeated by the BJP candidate, Vinayak Goyal, who secured a total of 63954 votes while the former managed to get only 55584 votes.

Mohammad Akbar

Forest Minister in the Congress government, Mohammad Akbar has also lost the election from the Kawardha constituency. Akbar lost the election to BJP candidate, Vijay Sharma by more than 39000 votes.

A seasoned politician, Akbar who rose to limelight after the communal scuffle gripped Kawardha in October 2021, had won the 2018 state assembly elections with a thumping majority by defeating the BJP candidate Santosh Sahu with a margin of around 60000.

Ravindra Chaubey

Senior Congress leader and former minister, Ravindra Chaubey has also lost the election from the high profile Saja constituency. Chaubey was defeated by BJP candidate Ishwar Sahu, father of Bhuvneshwar Sahu who was killed by an enraged mob in April this year.

 

The defeat of Chaubey is unprecedented, as the Congress stalwart was up against an amuture Ishwar Sahu who has been continuously accusing the Congress government for denying justice to his deceased son.

Mohan Markam

Another minister of the Bhupesh-led Congress government, Mohan Markam has also lost the election from the high profile Kondagaon Vidhan Sabha seat. Markam was defeated by BJP candidate Lata Usendi by a margin of more than 18000 votes. According to the figures released by the Election Commission of India, Usendi secured a total vote of 80465 while Markam only managed to get 61893 votes.

Other minister who lost the elections

It is to be noted that a number of other ministers in the Bhupesh Baghel government have also lost their respective seats in the recently concluded state assembly elections 2023. The list includes senior leaders like Amarjit Bhagat, Tamradhwaj Sahu, Jay Singh Agarwal, Shiv Dahariya and Rudra Guru suggesting a huge anti-incumbency against the Bhupesh led government.

It is worth mentioning that the saffron party secured a thumping majority in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and has been leading on as many as 14 seats alongside winning a total of 40 seats in Chhattisgarh according to the latest trends.