Chhattisgarh Assembly Election 2028

What this countdown tracks

The election to the 90-seat Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha, expected by November 2028 on the five-year cycle from the 7–17 November 2023 phased polling. Some 21 million eligible voters in India's tenth-most-populous state — carved out of Madhya Pradesh in November 2000 — elect their MLAs and, indirectly, the Chief Minister of the state government in Raipur.

About this election

The 2023 vote produced a striking BJP comeback. The party won 54 of 90 seats on a 46.3 percent vote share against the incumbent Congress's 35 seats on 42.2 percent, ending the Bhupesh Baghel government after one term. Vishnu Deo Sai — a tribal leader from the Surguja region and former union minister — was sworn in as Chief Minister on 13 December 2023, with deputy CMs Arun Sao and Vijay Sharma. He is Chhattisgarh's first Adivasi Chief Minister since the state's formation.

Chhattisgarh's politics are structured by the BJP–Congress bipolar contest, with the BSP and Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) playing minor roles. The Maoist insurgency in the Bastar region — the Dandakaranya zone of the CPI (Maoist) — remains a central security and developmental challenge, with the union government targeting full eradication by March 2026 under Operation Black Forest. The state's economy is dominated by coal, iron ore, steel and rice farming.

Key issues

The 2028 campaign will weigh the Sai government's record on Maoist clearance operations and the post-conflict resettlement question in Bastar, the OBC sub-quota litigation continuing from 2024, the rice procurement and PDS architecture inherited from the Baghel government, the Hasdeo Aranya forest mining controversy that has drawn national attention, the future of Bhilai and the steel-sector employment base, and Adivasi rights and the implementation of PESA across the scheduled areas.

Past results

• 2023 (Nov, two phases): BJP 54 seats (46.3%), Congress 35 (42.2%), GGP 1 — Vishnu Deo Sai sworn in as CM.
• 2018: Congress 68, BJP 15, JCC(J) 5, BSP 2 — Bhupesh Baghel's first term.
• 2013: BJP 49, Congress 39, BSP 1 — Raman Singh's third term, by single-seat margin.
• 2008: BJP 50, Congress 38, BSP 2 — Raman Singh's second term.
• 2003: BJP 50, Congress 37, NCP 1 — Raman Singh's first term, the state's second election.

How to follow

The Election Commission of India and the Chhattisgarh Chief Electoral Officer publish results at results.eci.gov.in and ceochhattisgarh.nic.in. ABP News, Aaj Tak, IBC24 and Sahara Samay run Hindi coverage; Dainik Bhaskar (largest Hindi daily in the state), The Indian Express and The Hindu run print coverage. Polls open 07:00 to 17:00 IST in Maoist-affected constituencies, 07:00 to 18:00 elsewhere.

Related countdowns

Chhattisgarh's 2028 vote runs in the late-2028 Indian state cluster with the Madhya Pradesh assembly election, Rajasthan assembly election and Telangana assembly election. For neighbouring-state context see the Karnataka assembly election.

FAQ

When is the Chhattisgarh 2028 election? Expected November 2028 (phased) on the five-year cycle from the November 2023 vote. Who is running? BJP under Vishnu Deo Sai defending; Congress under whoever is state president — currently Deepak Baij — and likely Bhupesh Baghel as CM-face. Why does this election matter beyond India? Chhattisgarh produces nearly a fifth of India's coal and over 15 percent of national steel output; the post-Maoist trajectory in Bastar shapes Adivasi-rights and forest-conservation debates. What is Operation Black Forest? The union government's Bastar-centred Maoist eradication campaign with a March 2026 deadline; its outcome will define Bastar's electoral geography in 2028.