Mumbai: The state of Chhattisgarh could see the ruling Congress party return to power after the Assembly elections this year. An opinion poll for Chhattisgarh by ABP News-CVoter (Centre for Voting Opinion & Trends in Election Research) has predicted that the Congress will get a majority in the forthcoming Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) projected to give a tough fight.

As per the ABP News-CVoter survey, the Congress is likely to win 48-54 seats with a vote share of 45.6 per cent, while the opposition BJP is likely to win 35-41 seats with a vote share of 41.1 per cent. There is no other major party in the fray, and Others are likely to win 0-3 seats with a vote share of 13.3 per cent.

During the ABP News-CVoter survey conducted in Chhattisgarh, the respondents were asked about the most important issues people are facing in Chhattisgarh and the country. In response, 30.3% respondents listed unemployment as the most important issue, while 26.4% said rising prices was the biggest issue, followed by poverty (9.7 per cent), corruption (7.8 per cent), education system (2.2%), women security (2 per cent), communal tension (1.8 per cent) and other/local issues (19.8 per cent).

One of the questions was also about their preferred choice for the Chief Minister post. While 48.8% of the people favoured current CM Bhupesh Baghel (INC), with 46.3 per cent saying they were ‘very much satisfied’ and 31.5 per cent ‘satisfied to some extent’ with his performance. While 23.7 per cent said BJP’s Raman Singh was their top choice, current Deputy Chief Minister TS Singh Deo (INC) had 13 per cent rooting for him. Only 1.2 per cent favoured BJP’s Ramesh Bais, but over 13 per cent voted for ‘Others’ as their preferred choice for CM.

When asked how satisfied the people of Chhattisgarh are with the performance of the Baghel government, 42.5 per cent respondents said they are ‘very much satisfied’, 34 per cent said they are ‘satisfied to some extent’ and 22.8 per cent said they are ‘not at all satisfied’.

On the question of how satisfied the people of Chhattisgarh are with the performance of the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 47.1 per cent respondents said that they are ‘very much satisfied’, while 36.1 per cent said that they are ‘satisfied to some extent’; 15.6 per cent said that they are ‘not at all satisfied’ with the work done by the central government.

When asked how satisfied they are with PM Modi’s performance, 64.2 per cent respondents said they are ‘very much satisfied’, 15.7 per cent said they are ‘satisfied to some extent’, and 15.1 per cent said they are ‘not at all satisfied’.

ABP News-CVoter also carried out a Snap Poll in Chhattisgarh, and as per the findings, 66.5 per cent BJP supporters think the party’s decision to announce candidates for 21 seats much before the elections is right, while 47.7 per cent Congress voters and 56 per cent ‘Others’ also think it is a right decision.  Over 22 per cent BJP voters and 35.2% Congress supporters think the decision is wrong.

Asked if the BJP had besieged CM Baghel in a personal fight by fielding his nephew Vijay Baghel against him, 53.3 per cent BJP voters, 36.4 per cent Congress voters and 48.8 per cent ‘Others’ said ‘Yes’ in reply. The answer from 36.1 per cent BJP supporters, 50.9 per cent Congress supporters and 41.9 per cent ‘Others’ was a ‘No’.

ABP News-CVoter conducted a Snap Poll in election-bound Madhya Pradesh too. The questions asked were if the BJP’s decision to announce candidates for 39 seats much before the elections is right or wrong, and if the ruling party has taken an early lead with this decision. Replying to the first question, 63.2 per cent BJP voters, 32.7 per cent Congress voters and 43.9 per cent ‘Others’ said ‘Yes’. The corresponding figures for ‘No’ were 23.2 per cent, 44.9  per cent, and 35.6 per cent, respectively. In reply to the second question, 50.2 per cent BJP voters, 23.2 per cent Congress voters and 38.9 per cent ‘Others’ said ‘yes’, and 41.8 per cent BJP voters, 73.7 per cent INC voters and 48.1 per cent ‘Others’ said ‘No’.