After securing resounding victories in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Chhattisgarh, the BJP continued its winning streak by sweeping civic body elections in the state. Riding on the success of its welfare schemes and fulfilled promises, the party secured a majority in urban local bodies, including all ten mayoral posts, according to poll officials.
The Congress, the main opposition party, put up a lackluster performance but managed to win the chairperson’s post in the Kunkuri Nagar Panchayat in Jashpur district, the assembly constituency of Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai.
The elections, held on February 11, saw a 72.48% voter turnout across 173 urban bodies, including 10 municipal corporations, 49 municipal councils, and 114 Nagar Panchayats. Vote counting took place on Saturday.
As per the results, the BJP won mayoral positions in all 10 municipal corporations, previously held by the Congress after the 2019-20 elections. In the municipal councils, the BJP secured chairperson posts in 35 out of 49 councils, while the Congress won eight, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) secured one, and independent candidates claimed five. In the 114 Nagar Panchayats, the BJP won 81 chairperson positions, the Congress 22, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) one, and independents took 10.
The BJP also dominated municipal wards, winning 60 out of 70 seats in Raipur Municipal Corporation, while the Congress secured seven and independents three. Notably, the chairman of Basna Nagar Panchayat and 31 corporators across various civic bodies were elected unopposed.
In the high-profile Raipur mayoral race, BJP’s Meenal Choubey won with 3,15,835 votes, defeating Congress’ Dipti Dubey by a margin of 1,53,290 votes. In Rajnandgaon, BJP candidate and former MP Madhusudan Yadav secured victory with 62,517 votes, defeating Congress’ Nikhil Dwivedi, who managed 21,379 votes. Similarly, in Ambikapur, BJP’s Manjusha Bhagat won with 42,836 votes, defeating Congress’ Dr. Ajay Tirkey, a two-time mayor.
On the home turf of Congress leader and former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who represents the Patan assembly seat in Durg district, the BJP secured the chairperson’s post in Patan Nagar Panchayat.
Calling the victory “historic,” Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said, “This day will be etched in Chhattisgarh’s political history in golden letters. The people have shown their trust in the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and our government’s development work. I express my gratitude to them.” He reaffirmed the party’s commitment to fulfilling promises made in its manifesto, the ‘Atal Viswas Patra,’ while criticizing the Congress for not keeping its word.
Sai also accused the previous Congress-led government of undermining democracy by introducing indirect elections for mayors. He pointed out that Aijaz Dhebar, the Congress candidate who became Raipur’s mayor under the earlier system, was defeated in a municipal ward election this time.
Highlighting a significant result, Sai noted that in Raigarh, a tea seller, BJP’s Jivardhan Chouhan, won the mayoral election, securing 56,311 votes and defeating Congress’ Janki Katju by 34,365 votes.
On Congress’ lone victory in Kunkuri Nagar Panchayat, Sai said, “We respect the mandate and assure that development in the region will not stop.” He also took a jibe at Bhupesh Baghel, remarking that while the Congress honored him by appointing him general secretary, the people of his own constituency “thanked him in a different way” by rejecting the party.
Meanwhile, state Congress chief Dipak Baij acknowledged that the results did not meet the party’s expectations but said it respected the people’s mandate. “We fought with full strength and unity. All senior leaders participated in the campaign. The Congress did not compromise on its principles,” he said.
Baij accused the BJP of misusing government machinery, alleging that election dates were manipulated, EVMs were introduced despite earlier announcements of ballot paper voting, and complaints of malfunctioning machines were reported from over 100 locations. He assured that despite the setback, the Congress would continue to fight against BJP’s “misgovernance.”
In contrast to these results, the last urban body elections held in 2019-2020 saw the Congress winning all 10 mayoral posts, 28 out of 38 municipal council chairperson positions, and 58 out of 103 Nagar Panchayats. The BJP, back then, had managed to secure 10 municipal councils and 35 Nagar Panchayats.
One of the key changes under the Sai government was the restoration of direct elections for mayors and chairpersons, reversing the Congress-era system where corporators elected them indirectly.
With this decisive victory, the BJP has further cemented its dominance in Chhattisgarh, reinforcing its position ahead of future political battles in the state.
With inputs from PTI