Chhattisgarh polls: BJP's hold on SC seats loosens, leads in 2 of 10

Raipur: The ruling BJP seems to have lost its hold on the Assembly seats reserved for Scheduled Castes in Chhattisgarh as per trends from the vote counting currently underway. The BJP was leading in only two of the 10 SC reserved seats while in the 2013 Assembly polls, the party had won nine of them. 

This time, the opposition Congress is leading in six seats while the BSP is ahead in two. While BJP state minister Dayaldas Baghel was trailing in Navagarh (SC) seat by a margin of 12,037 votes, another minister Punnulal Mohile was leading by a margin of 4,798 votes in Mungeli (SC) seat. 

Scheduled Castes make up roughly 12 per cent of the state's 2.5 crore population and a sizable number of them follow the Satnami sect. Polls for the 90-member House in the state took place in two phases on November 12 and 20.