Patan Constituency- Where ‘Chaha-Bhatija’ Meets
Patan constituent assembly polls were held during the second phase of state assembly election in Chhattisgarh on November 17. Patan falls in the Durg district and is categorized as an urban seat. Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel contested the election representing Congress against BJP candidate and his nephew Vijay Baghel.
The majority of the electorate belong to Sahu community, followed by the Kurmi and Satnami societies. The total number of registered voters in the constituency is around 210,800, with 104,700 males and 108,700 females. The literacy rate in the constituency is 92%, reports India Today. Most of the voters in Patan are engaged in agriculture, while others in governmental jobs and in retail. The constituency is known for its Government agriculture college and Horticulture college.
Bhupesh Baghel has been contesting the Patan assembly seat since 1993 and had a winning streak till 2008 when Vijay Baghel defeated him with a margin of around 8000 votes.
In the last 15 years, the state has faced six elections in which 2008 assembly and 2019 parliamentary election was only time when the BJP received more votes than the Congress in Patan. In both occasion Vijay Baghel was the candidate representing BJP.
Since 1977, Patan has favoured Kurmi candidates owing to its significant Kurmi population. Kurmi is a subcaste that falls under OBC. Both the Congress and BJP candidate belongs to the Kurmi community. And thus if the Kurmi votes get divided, Sahu vote will determine the fate of the candidates who account for 35 per cent of the population.
The current chief minister has string support base in Patan. Keeping the loss in 2008 apart, there was always consequent increase in the electoral votes received for Bhupesh, from around 51,000 in 2008 to around 68,000 in 2013, to more than 84,000 in 2018, reports India today.
Despite the allegation of graft against chief minister which has found some resonance in his home turf, he is widely known for his good work in his constituency.
In 2008, Vijay Baghel won the election securing 59000 votes while 51158 votes were polled in favour of Bhupesh Baghel of the INC.
Though Buphesh Baghel won five out six elections, his victory margin has never been in double digits, except in 2018. The 2019 Lok Sabha election posed a major concern for Bhupesh. His party candidate received 14 per cent fewer votes than BJP, just six months after being the chief minister.
