Raman Singh, Former Chief Minister Wins In Rajnandgaon Constituency

Former chief minister Dr Raman Singh secured a thumping win in Rajnandgaon constituency by defeating Congress leader Girish Dewangan securing 102499 votes. This is a high-stake election for Dr Raman Singh as he looks to make a comeback as the chief minister of Chhattisgarh.

Rajnandgaon is considered to be Dr Raman Singh”s stronghold as he has been elected from the constituency for three consecutive terms. In the 2018 Chhattisgarh elections, Dr Raman Singh won from the constituency after he secured 80,589 votes and a vote percentage of 51.7 per cent. Dr Singh secured 86,797 votes and a vote percentage of 58.4 per cent in 2013. The Rajnandgaon has a total of 1,98,000 voters dominated by urban voters and has a higher number of female voters. The voter base also includes urban voters and job seekers.

He is the most identifiable BJP candidate in the state of Chhattisgarh. Though being a silent performer, he was widely regarded as the “chawal wale baba” for his Public Distribution System initiatives. Raman Singh is a respected figure from the BJP and also one of the longest-serving chief ministers of BJP.

Unfortunately, after the division of the state, BJP was not able to benefit from it. Congress’s Ajit Jogi emerged as the state’s first chief minister. BJP had to wait till 2003 for their turn. In the assembly election, BJP won the assembly election with majority of 50 out of 90 seats. The BJP’s face Dilip Singh Judeo was mired in a corruption scandal and thus the party opted Raman Singh to be their chief minister.

Though he was widely regarded for his 15 years as chief minister, his government faced several allegations which includes, corruption, the state-sponsored militia, Salwa Judum, created in the name to take on Maoists which later became controversial after allegations of violence against the villagers.