Raipur, December 10: Results of the high-stake Chhattisgarh assembly elections 2018 will be declared tomorrow by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The polling body is scheduled to begin the counting of votes across the 90 constituencies of the state at 8:00am. Pollsters in the naxal-affected state have their eyes set on the outcome -- as the ruling BJP is facing its most stringent challenged in the last 15 years.

Voting in Chhattisgarh was held in two phases -- with the Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts of Rajnandgaon and Bastar going to polls on November 12, whereas, elections in all other parts was held on November 20. Seat-wise, 18 constituencies were contested in phase-1 and the remaining 72 seas in round 2. A total voter turnout of 76.35 per cent was recorded -- marginally lower than 77.40 per cent recorded in 2013. Today's Chanakya Exit Poll Predicts Congress to Wrest Power With 50 Seats.

Time of Counting and How to Check

Counting of votes at all ECI-designated centres will begin at 8:00am. In the first round, votes registered through postal ballots by CRPF and Army jawans -- hailing from Chhattisgarh -- is counted. Counting of votes recorded by EVMs would begin subsequently. The first credible trends would emerge from 8:30am.

For results, stay tuned with the minute-by-minute coverage presented by LatestLY. The constituency-wise results could also be checked on the official website of Election Commission -- eci.gov.in -- or the portal specially designated to release update on results: eciresults.nic.in.

Chhattisgarh Exit Poll Predictions 2018

The exit polls were divided on the outcome Chhattisgarh assembly elections 2018. Predicting a tight race, an aggregate of nine exit polls gives a slim edge for the BJP, while the Ajit Jogi-Mayawati alliance is expected to play the kingmaker. The average of all post-election surveys predict the Raman Singh-led BJP to bag 42 seats -- down from 49 it had won last year -- whereas, the Congress is expected to win 41 constituencies. The JCC-BSP-CPI alliance is likely to wrest 4 assembly segments.

Who Will Be Next Chhattisgarh Chief Minister?

While the BJP has reiterated that Raman Singh would take oath as the Chief Minister for a fourth consecutive term if the party is re-elected to power, the Congress has refrained from announcing its CM candidate so far -- which experts attribute to the fear of in-party rebellion.

Congress insiders, however, consider party's state unit president Bhupesh Baghel as the prime contender for the CM post if the party bags a full majority.

Meanwhile, former Congress leader and chief of Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (JCC) Ajit Jogi -- who was the first chief minister of the state -- has also promised to emerge as the king instead of the kingmaker following the polls. "I will be the Chief Minister and support Mayawati to be the Prime Minister in 2019," the 72-year-old had said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 10, 2018 01:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).