New Delhi, Nov 6 (IANS): An exclusive CVoter opinion poll conducted for ABP News reveals that the Congress is projected to retain power in the Assembly elections due in Chhattisgarh.

The party had recorded a thumping victory in the 2018 Assembly elections after the BJP had ruled the state for three successive terms between 2003 and 2018.

According to the survey, while the BJP has recovered a lot of ground it lost in 2018, it still trails behind the Congress in terms of both vote share and number of seats.

Even though Chattisgarh has seen largely bilateral fights between the BJP and the Congress since it was formed in 2000, other parties like the BSP did have significant influence in the state.

In the current Assembly elections, they are projected to become marginal players.

According to the CVoter survey, the Congress vote share in the state is projected to rise from 43.1 per cent in 2018 to 44.8 per cent this time.

The BJP vote share is projected to rise from 33 per cent in 2018 to 42.7 per cent in the current elections.

The vote share of “others” is projected to drop from 23.9 per cent in 2018 to 12.5 per cent this time.

The small but significant vote share advantage enjoyed by the Congress has led to projections of the party crossing the majority mark of 45 in the 90-member Assembly.

According to the CVoter survey, the Congress is projected to win between 45 to 51 seats in the current elections.

It had won 68 seats in the 2018 Assembly elections.

The BJP is projected to win between 36 to 42; a significant improvement over 2018 when it had won just 15 seats but still not enough to dislodge the Congress.

The “others” are projected to win between 2 to 5 seats.

During the survey, 5,782 registered voters were interviewed by CVoter team members. The margin of error is 3 per cent.