Fresh faces helped BJP win Chhattisgarh

New Delhi: The BJP is set to make a remarkable comeback in Chhattisgarh, a state which had voted out its three term government led by Dr Raman Singh late last year. The main credit for a comeback is being given to the fact that the Central BJP unit took command and changed all incumbent Members of Parliament, introducing new faces to the contest.  

The ruthless planning was such that even the former chief minister's son, Abhishek Singh, sitting Member of Parliament from Rajnandgaon, was denied a ticket. It was felt that the denial of tickets to the sitting MPs was to quell the simmering discontent among the state population against the Raman Singh government's rule.

Moreover, the selection of candidates for Lok Sabha contest was clearly directed by the Central leadership led by party chief Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Fearing anti-incumbency, the BJP has already denied tickets to all 10 of its sitting  MPs, which includes Abhishek Singh, the son of the former chief minister.

Apart from mainitaining a “safe distance” from the earlier government of Dr Singh, the BJP also banked on the nationalistic appeal and image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi it would be able to salvage its pride in the Lok Sabha polls. The party also did not use Dr  Singh as extensively as it used him during earlier election campaigning. Working on this strategy, the BJP has been able to make a drastic comeback and retained a majority of its seats that it had won during the 2014 general elections.  

In the 2014 Lok sabha polls the BJP had secured 10 seats with the Congress bagging just one. However, just few months ago, the political equations changed drastically as Dr Singh’s 15-year government was booted out and the Congress stormed to victory with 68 seats in the 90 member state Assembly.

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