Considered underdogs in the run-up to the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, the BJP stunned the ruling Congress and made a spectacular comeback in the State, winning 54 seats in the 90-member Assembly.
The Congress, in contrast, witnessed a major reversal of fortunes with its tally coming down to 35 from 71 seats in the outgoing Assembly and less than half of the 75 plus slogan it had coined. As a personal setback for incumbent Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, nine of the 12 Ministers in his Cabinet lost. Among them who lost was Deputy Chief Minister T.S. Singh Deo apart from Congress State president Deepak Baij.
