Congress will decide CM of Chhattisgarh today

Raipur, Dec 12: The Congress in Chhattisgarh will hold its legislature party meeting today to decide on the next chief minister of the state.

Congress continued to maintain its lead in Chhattisgarh. The BJP, on the other hand, is leading in just 13 seats. In the 2013 assembly polls, the BJP had a tremendous victory winning a total of 49 seats. The Congress had won 39 seats in the 90-member assembly.

Congress' Lok Sabha member Tamradhwaj Sahu, who successfully contested the Assembly election from Durg Rural seat, state party chief Bhupesh Baghel and senior leader T.S. Singhdeo are front-runner for this post.

The Congress registered victory in the Chhattisgarh polls, with end of the 15-year rule of the Raman Singh-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

Congress won 68 seats in the 90-member Assembly, while the BJP got only 15 seats.

"The Congress Legislature Party meeting will be held at 8 pm, All India Congress Committee's observer Mallikarjun Kharge, AICC in-charge for the state P L Punia and other senior leaders will be present there," state party unit's general secretary Shailesh Nitin Trivedi said.

The chief minister is likely to be announced after the meeting.

Former chief minister Ajit Jogi-led Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) won five seats and his ally Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) bagged two seats.

A party needs to win 46 seats to form government in the state.

The Congress got 43 per cent of the total votes polled in the state, while the BJP got 33 per cent.