The Raipur City South assembly seat in Chhattisgarh, which has been a fortress of the Bharatiya Janata Party for 34 years now, yet again remained elusive for the Congress, with its candidate losing for a ninth time to the BJP by a margin of 46,167 votes.

The elections in the state have always been a two-way contest between the BJP and the Congress, and this time was no different. Sunil Kumar Soni (63), an experienced BJP hand, a former MP and the ex-Raipur mayor, trounced Congress’s Akash Sharma (34), the Youth Congress state president who was making his electoral debut.

In the assembly polls last year, the BJP had won all nine assembly seats within the Raipur Lok Sabha constituency, and this win helped the party maintain its clean sweep and solidify its grip on urban voters in the state capital.

The seat was perceived as a litmus test for the party as it is the first time since 1990 that it fielded a new MLA face. Senior BJP leader Brijmohan Agrawal (65) had won the assembly seat in last year’s polls for an eighth consecutive time. However, he vacated the seat on instructions of senior party leaders and contested the Raipur Lok Sabha seat earlier this year, which he won with a record margin, necessitating the bypolls.

The BJP had to find a face who could retain the seat, and they chose to go with a man of Agrawal’s choice – Soni, his college friend.

The Congress tried exploiting the choice, with former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel calling Soni an unpopular leader who BJP workers were unhappy with.

The opposition also tried pitching a much younger Sharma as a fresh alternative. Campaigning for Sharma, Baghel and All India Congress Committee Chhattisgarh in-charge Sachin Pilot also spoke about the deteriorating law and order in the state.

On the other hand, the BJP stressed on manifesto promises it had also made in last year’s Assembly polls, especially the Mahatari Vandan Yojna, a government scheme where married women under certain criteria get Rs 1,000 through direct bank transfers every month. There are about 2.71 lakh voters in the Assembly segment, including 1.37 lakh women.

However, neither party could create enough enthusiasm among city voters, and there was a 10% drop in turnout, with the voting percentage down to 50.5%.

Still, political observers credited BJP party workers for managing to get voters to polling booths, something the Congress failed to match.

Another factor that worked for the BJP was their organisational strength, wherein sitting MPs and ministers were designated work for the campaign.

After the result, Agrawal told the media, “For the last 35 years, the trust shown by the people of Raipur south continues to be with us. Big leaders who made big promises are biting dust. People here have proven the seat was, is and will be a BJP fortress.”

Soni said, “I will not break the trust of the public in the BJP and I promise to work together on the path of development.”

The Congress accepted the defeat but said it managed to improve its vote share. Chhattisgarh Congress communications head Sushil Anand Shukla said, “The result is not as expected but our party, workers and leaders fought the elections unitedly. Our fight in public interest will continue.”

In December 2023, the BJP had come to power in the state by winning 54 out of 90 seats. The party took over from the Congress, which had dethroned BJP after three terms in power.