Chhattisgarh poll: Trends indicate Congress wave

RAIPUR: Riding on a pro-change sentiment, opposition Congress has secured leads in 62 constituencies in Chhattisgarh in the first three hours of counting of votes in 90 assembly constituencies.
The BJP, which ruled the state for 15 years, is leading only in 18 constituencies while the third front alliance of Janata Congress led by former chief minister Ajit Jogi, BSP and CPI are leading in eight constituencies.
Chhattisgarh Election results 2018 live updates
As counting progressed, Congress and third front together have established leads in 66 out of 90 constituencies – crossing the Mission 65 target by set by the BJP for itself.
Chief minister Raman Singh is leading in Rajnandgaon seat while former chief minister Ajit Jogi is leading in Marwahi (ST) constituency.

Initial trends indicate that the Congress is performing extremely well in tribal Bastar region while BJP is apparently in close fight with Congress in the tribal Surguja and Jashpur division in North Chhattisgarh.

Five ministers in the Raman Singh government are trailing at 1100 hours while six other ministers are leading though in a neck-and-neck contest. Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s niece Karuna Shukla initially secured lead but trailed later.
Speaker Gaurishankar Agrawal who initially trailed in Kasdol, however, improved his lead position and is leading at the moment.
Leader of Opposition and Congress leader TS Singhdeo also leads 6800 votes in Ambikapur constituency, while Congress candidate Umesh Patel from Kharsia is leading by 1800 votes against his BJP rival and former IAS OP Choudhary.
In the state capital, one of the powerful ministers in the Raman Singh government, Rajesh Munat is continuously trailing right from the beginning behind Congress leader Vikas Upadhyay in Raipur (west) constituency.
Agriculture minister Brijmohan Agrawal is trailing behind his nearest Congress rival Kanhaiya Agrawal in Raipur (South) constituency by 419 votes.