BJP will sweep Chhattisgarh Lok Sabha poll: Raman Singh

Raipur, March 9 (IANS) Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh said here Monday that he was sure the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would sweep the April 16 Lok Sabha elections in the state.

'The BJP has been in power in the state since December 2003 and pulled off the best performance in the 2004 general election. This time, the party will perform even better than the last parliamentary poll as we have cared for all sections and communities and have been providing good governance,' Raman Singh told reporters.

In the 2004 parliamentary polls, the BJP won 10 seats while the Congress bagged one. The BJP's strength was later reduced to nine with the Congress winning the Rajnandgaon by-election after BJP MP Pradeep Gandhi was expelled following a sting operation on the cash-for-questions scam.

'The government has been making concerted efforts to improve the quality of life for those living below the poverty line. The government has also been doing its best to ensure food security among poverty-hit populations,' said the 56-year-old chief minister.

He was referring to his brain child, the Chief Minister's Food Assistance Scheme, which has been providing 35 kg rice per month to each of the 3.7 million families in the state at Rs.3 per kg since April 2007. Now the scheme will provide rice at just Rs.2 per kg from fiscal 2009-10.

The BJP has already declared candidates for all the 11 Lok Sabha seats in the state, while the Congress is yet to prepare a draft list of ticket claimants.