2023 Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly election

The tenure of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly is scheduled to end on 3 January 2024.^[2] 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.^[3]

The schedule of the election was announced by the Election Commission of India on 9 October 2023.^[4][5]

Source:^[6][7][8]

Alliance/Party				Flag	Symbol	Leader	Seats contested
	Indian National Congress					Bhupesh Baghel	90
	Bharatiya Janata Party					Arun Sao	90
	BSP+[9]		Bahujan Samaj Party			Hemant Poyam[10]	58+1	90
			Gondwana Ganatantra Party			Kuldeep Prajapati[10]	32
	Janta Congress Chhattisgarh					Amit Jogi	77
	Aam Aadmi Party					Komal Hupendi[11]	53
	Samajwadi Party						22
	Communist Party of India						12
	Communist Party of India (Marxist)						3
	Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas)						3
	Lok Janshakti Party						1
	44 REGISTERED (UNRECOGNISED) PARTIES						308
	INDEPENDENT						430

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.^[16]

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.^[17]

Manifesto^[18][19]

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 Chhattisgarh also promised to improve infrastructure, healthcare, and education in the state.^[20]

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.^[21][22] He also accused the Congress of promoting religious conversion and appeasement politics.^[23] 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.^[24]

Manifesto^[25][26]

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.^[27] 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.^[28]

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.^[29]

Exit polls were released on 30 November 2023.^[34][35][36] 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.^[37]