RAIPUR: In Chhattisgarh the close contest predicted in the Assembly elections coupled with the findings of exit polls are causing concerns in both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition Congress even as all eyes are set on how the third front — the Jogi-Mayawati pre-poll alliance —rakes up numbers in the 90-Member House.
The Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party and former chief minister Ajit Jogi-led Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (J) alliance is said to have put up a tough fight in a dozen seats.
“If it wins around 6-8 seats, the BJP stands a chance to retain power as the alliance will win only the seats where the Congress party had a bright chance of success. If the third front couldn’t harness the much apparent intense anti-incumbency wave and ends up getting just 2-3 seats, then the Congress is likely to sweep the polls,” said Shashank Sharma, a political analyst.
Exit polls have shown results mostly divided between the Congress and the BJP though none have referred to the alliance as irrelevant. According to sources in Jogi’s outfit, he is in touch with the Congress. He had already had pledged that he wouldn’t offer support to the BJP or seek help from it under any circumstance.
Another possibility is that the few seats the alliance wins, defect to the Congress if the latter needs to prove a simple majority, Sharma stated. Political observers claim a trust deficit within Jogi’s party. “Whoever wins ... it will only be owing to his or her own individual capacity,”a political commentator said.