Assembly elections: Modi factor, graft issue power BJP's return to Chhattisgarh
BJP made a decisive comeback in Chhattisgarh's Assembly polls on Sunday, winning 54 of the 90 seats in the fray, leaving the Congress with 35 seats in the head-on contest.
The BJP's return to power in the state was powered by a well thought out populist election manifesto that had anti-corruption as its main poll plank. BJP won its highest-ever seat tally as it overtook its own performance in 2008 when the party had won 50 seats.
The Congress' in-fighting and its diffidence to come out in support of its traditional vote bank, including the tribal community and women, did not augur well for the party. ET takes a look at what has worked for the BJP and where the Congress party lost the plot.
MODI TICKET
The BJP's 15 years in power in Chhattisgarh had left it a divided house.
The central leadership stepped in to set the house in order and took a conscious call to fight on the Modi ticket. The decision to not project a chief ministerial face worked, as the party was able to convince the electorate that «Development=Modi=BJP».
With this the party also addressed the issue of any negative vote owing to Raman Singh's three terms. The BJP started early, declaring its first list in August--three months before the election.
Read more on economictimes.indiatimes.com
