Chhattisgarh polls: Cong ahead in 42 seats, BJP in 15

Raipur: The opposition Congress was leading in 42 seats, and the ruling BJP in 15 in Chhattisgarh as per trends available in 64 seats, poll officials said Tuesday. The Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) of former chief minister Ajit Jogi was ahead in five seats and its ally Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was leading in one seat. 

The Gondwana Gandtantra Party (GGP) was leading in one seat. Five ministers in the BJP government Brijmohan Agrawal (Raipur City South), Kedar Kashyap (Narayanpur constituency), Mahesh Gagda (Bijapur), Dayaldas Baghel (Nawagarh) and Amar Agrawal (Bilaspur) - were trailing. However, state presidents of the BJP and the Congress - Dharamlal Kaushik and Bhupesh Baghel -were leading from Bilha and Patan seats respectively. 

Leader of Opposition T S Singhdeo and Congress MP from Durg Lok Sabha seat Tamradhwaj Sau were leading in Ambikapur and Durg Rural seats, respectively. Ajit Jogi was leading in Marwahi seat while his wife Renu Jogi was ahead in Kota constituency, the official said. Counting for all the 90 seats started at 8 am. 

The counting of postal ballots was first taken up followed by counting of votes from the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is seeking a fourth straight term in office under the leadership of Chief Minister Raman Singh, while the Congress is aiming to stage a comeback after being in the opposition for 15 years. The state had recorded 76.60 per cent voter turnout. The 2013 state Assembly's partywise position was :- BJP-49, Congress-39, BSP-one and Independent-one.