BJP RULES THE ROOST

The saffron perch in the state seems secure for mow, but not for ever should it drop its guard

- Rahul Noronha

TO someone not from the state, the results of the past three Lok Sabha elections in Chhattisgarh would suggest a political placidity. The BJP won 10 of the 11 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2014, lost one to the Congress in 2019 to reach a tally of nine (against the Congress’s two), and reclaimed it again this year for a score of 10, to the Congress’s one. The difference in vote share between the two principal challengers has also remained more or less the same in the past decade, around 10 per cent. For political observers on the ground though, the just-concluded election presents a nuanced design.