2023 Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly election

Legislative Assembly elections were held in Chhattisgarh in two phases on 7 November and 17 November 2023 to elect all 90 members of Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly. The votes were counted and the results declared on 3 December 2023.

Defying all pollsters and predictions, the BJP won an absolute majority with 54 seats, wresting power from the INC, which had won a landslide in 2018 but could win only 35 seats. This was also the BJP's biggest win in Chhattisgarh. On 13 December, BJP leader Vishnu Deo Sai took oath as the fourth chief minister of the state.

Background
The tenure of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly is scheduled to end on 3 January 2024. The previous assembly elections were held in November 2018. After the election, Indian National Congress formed the state government, with Bhupesh Baghel becoming Chief Minister.

Schedule
The schedule of the election was announced by the Election Commission of India on 9 October 2023.

Parties and alliances
Source:

Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC) campaigned slogan using "Fir se Congress layenge" (will bring congress again). The party's manifesto promised to continue and expand its existing welfare schemes, such as the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana (RGKNY), which provides financial assistance to farmers, and the Narva, Garva, Ghurva, Badi Yojana, which is a rural development program.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who addressed rallies and public meetings across the state. Baghel highlighted the party's achievements in government, such as the implementation of the RGKNY, the reduction in poverty, and the improvement in law and order. He also promised to continue working for the development of the state if the INC was re-electedThe INC also targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main opposition party in the state. Baghel accused the BJP of being anti-farmer and anti-poor, and of failing to develop the state when it was in power. He also criticized the BJP's central government for its policies, such as demonetization and GST, which he said had hurt the state's economy. The INC also targeted the BJP by using Adani in their campaign.

Manifesto

Bharatiya Janata Party
The party's manifesto, titled "Modi's Guarantee for Chhattisgarh 2023," promised to create one lakh new jobs, provide free electricity to farmers, and increase the minimum support price for paddy to ₹3,100 per quintal. The BJP also promised to improve infrastructure, healthcare, and education in the state.

The BJP's campaign was led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who addressed rallies across the state. Shah attacked the incumbent Congress government over alleged corruption, lawlessness, and the neglect of farmers and tribals. He also accused the Congress of promoting religious conversion and appeasement politics. Other senior BJP leaders who campaigned in Chhattisgarh included former Chief Minister Raman Singh, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, and party spokesperson Sambit Patra. They assured on the BJP's development record and the party's commitment to Hindutva.

The BJP also targeted the Congress government on the issue of Naxalism. The party alleged that the Congress was soft on Naxalites and that the state had witnessed an increase in Naxal violence in recent years.

Manifesto

Security concerns
Chhattisgarh has historicaly been part of India's red corridor, a hotspot for Naxalite–Maoist insurgency. To ensure a secure polling process, over 60,000 security personnel, mostly from the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) were deployed to 12 constituencies in the Bastar region. In total 20 constituencies saw the deployment of security forces.

In mid-afternoon on 7 November, the date of polling for the first phase, security personnel were injured in a gunfight in the southern villages of Tadmetla and Duled.

On 17 November, during the second phase of the elections, a Naxal IED blast occurred, resulting in the death of Indo-Tibetan Border Police Head Constable Joginder Singh when the Electronic Voting Machine was being returned to Gariaband from the polling stations of Bade and Gobra. The EVM was undamaged according to the Inspector-General of the Raipur Range, Arif Sheikh.

Exit polls
Exit polls were released on 30 November 2023. All exit polls incorrectly predicted the Congress to win, or at least become the single largest party in a hung assembly. Thus the exit polls turned out to be a failure, as BJP won the election with clear majority.

Aftermath
After the incumbent Congress government was defeated, chief minister Bhupesh Baghel tendered his resignation to governor Biswabhusan Harichandan.

On 10 December 2023, the BJP legislature party meeting was held in Raipur headed by its central observers Arjun Munda, Sarbananda Sonowal and Dushyant Kumar Gautam where Kunkuri MLA Vishnu Deo Sai was elected as the next chief minister and Arun Sao and Vijay Sharma were elected as deputy chief ministers. Later, they met governor Biswabhusan Harichandan and staked claim to form the government.

On 13 December, Vishnu Deo Sai, Arun Sao and Vijay Sharma took oath as chief minister an deputy chief ministers of Chhattisgarh at the Science College ground in Raipur.