Chhattisgarh@25: Going strong, but still has a lot on its plate

The state’s development record captures both continuity and constraint. Challenges like regional imbalances persist, writes Shikha Chaturvedi

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Born out of a longstanding demand for autonomy and focused governance, Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh on November 1, 2000.

Mineral-rich, but lagging in social indicators, the creation of the state was approved by the then National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Formed by tabling the Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000, in the parliament, the new state comprised 16 districts represented by 11 Lok Sabha constituencies and five Rajya Sabha seats.

With tribal communities making nearly one-third of its population, initially 34 of the 90 Assembly seats were reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs). After delimitation, this number came down to 29 for STs and 10 for Scheduled Castes (SCs), respectively.

While Ajit Jogi of the Congress served as Chhattisgarh’s first chief minister (CM) from 2000 to 2003, BJP’s Raman Singh was at the helm for the next 15 years. In 2018, Congress wrested power from the BJP and picked Bhupesh Baghel to lead its government.

Five years later, the BJP was back in office with Vishnu Deo Sai, a tribal, taking over as CM.

Over the years, Chhattisgarh has evolved into an economically vibrant state, balancing welfare-driven governance with an industrial and mining-based economy.