Raipur: Initial projections in Chhattisgarh indicate the incumbent Congress Party is ahead in six assembly seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leads in five, according to the ongoing vote count as per trends released by the Election Commission of India.

Data from the ECI shows that early trends favor Congress candidates Phoolsingh Rathiya from Rampur assembly constituency, Umesh Patel from Kharsia, Janak Dhruw from Bindranawagarh, Ashish Chhabra from Bemetara, and Aditya Raj from Manendragarh. Meanwhile, BJP's Kedar Kashyap is in the lead from the Narayanpur assembly constituency as per ECI data.

With a 90-member assembly in Chhattisgarh, the halfway mark for a majority is 46 seats.

The outcomes of the assembly elections in four states - Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana - are being seen as a crucial indicator ahead of the scheduled 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

A total of 1,181 candidates contested for mandates across the 90-member assembly. The Election Commission of India has deployed 90 returning officers, 416 assistant returning officers, 4596 enumerators, and 1699 micro-observers for the counting process. Additionally, 90 counting observers have been appointed for the 90 assembly constituencies.

The state elections were conducted in two phases. The first phase on November 7 covered 20 constituencies with 223 candidates, while the second phase on November 17 covered the remaining constituencies with 958 candidates. The combined voter turnout for both phases stood at 76.31 per cent, slightly lower than the 2018 polls, with 78 per cent in the first phase and 75.88 per cent in the second phase.

The primary contenders in the Chhattisgarh Elections 2023 include BJP, Congress, Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (JCC), and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Other regional parties like the Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP), Hamar Raj Party (HRP), and the Left parties are also in the running.

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