Chhattisgarh goes to the polls today, the first of five states to hold assembly elections before the end of the year. Voting in the central Indian state will take place in two phases, on Nov. 11 and Nov. 19. Here’s what you need to know about Chhattisgarh.
Established: Nov. 1, 2000 carved out of Madhya Pradesh state in central India.
Assembly seats: 90
Area: 135,194 square kilometers
Famous for: An impressive statewide food distribution system, which has drastically reduced leakages from the supply chain. Read more about it here.
Being a stronghold for the nation’s Maoist or Naxalite rebel movement. More than 40% of forest cover compared to 21% nationally, rich deposits of iron ore, diamonds and other minerals.
Climate: Hot, humid and sub-humid because of its position on the tropic of cancer.
Key Development Indicators:
Population: 25.5 million
Adult sex ratio: 991 females for 1,000 males (nationally 940 females per 1,000 males)
Child sex ratio: 964 females for 1,000 males ( nationally 914 females per 1,000 males)
Literacy: 71.04 % (74.04% nationally)
Male literacy: 81.45 % (82.14% nationally)
Female literacy: 60.59 % (65.46% nationally)
Average life expectancy for males: 59.2 years (64.6 years nationally)
Average life expectancy for females: 58 (67.6 years nationally)
Infant mortality rate: 48 per 1,000 live births (44 per 1,000 live births nationally)
Gross domestic product: $13.5 billion in 2011-2012
Growth rate: 8.14% (5.0% nationally)
Annual per capita income: $530 ($625 nationally)
Percentage of population below poverty line: 42.52% (nationally 28.30%)
Percentage of villages with electricity supply: 96.79% (83.80% nationally)
Irrigated area: 31.12% (49% nationally)
Major exports: steel, aluminum, minerals, handicraft, handloom
Current Political Make Up:
The Bharatiya Janata Party has been ruling the state since 2003 with Raman Singh as its chief minister. In the last assembly elections held in 2008, the BJP won a majority with 50 seats, the Congress party, which rules nationally, became the main opposition with 38 seats, the Bahujan Samaj Party won two seats.
The main contest in assembly elections starting Monday is between the incumbent BJP and the Congress party. A recent ABP News-Dainik Bhaskar-Nielsen opinion poll in the state published in The Hindustan Times, said the BJP would win the state with 60 seats.
India’s Naxalite rebellion, the Maoist insurgency that seeks to overthrow the elected government, has a stronghold in Chhattisgarh and has in the past targeted political leaders and programs. In May, the rebels killed 24 people including senior Congress party leaders from the state in an ambush of a convoy of vehicles belonging to the Congress party on its way to a political rally. The security threat from the rebels is the reason the polls are being held in two phases, the first on Nov.11 and Nov.19.
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