Who will be Chhattisgarh CM if Congress is elected to power? TS Singhdeo reveals

“Congress united ‘like family’ in Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel will be ‘first in line’ for CM post if we win,” Deputy CM TS Singhdeo told PTI in an interview.

There have been reports signaling a rift between TS Singh Deo and Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel during the tenure of the government in the last five years. Rejecting such reports, TS Singhdeo clarified that there was no difference between the two. Comparing his party with a family, he said that every family has issues that are resolved by members on their own. 

Tribhuvaneshwar Saran Singhdeo has been fielded again from the Ambikapur constituency. He said that Bhupesh Baghel and he experienced a period of “great pressure” from their respective supporters amid the media talk of two-and-a-half years of split tenure of chief ministership. But, he said, they never let that affect the governance in any way.

“Bhupesh Baghel and I saw a period of ‘great pressure’ amid media talk of split tenure of CM but never let it affect the governance,” he added.

He expressed confidence in his party’s victory in the state and said that he would be disappointed if the Congress does not get a two-thirds majority in the Assembly election on the back of a slew of welfare measures in just five years.

In his interview, TS Singhdeo clarified that if the party comes back to power, the final decision on the appointment of chief minister and deputy chief minister would be made by the high command.  

‘Have not seen PM Modi in Chhattisgarh in last 5 years, it is just before elections’

TS Singhdeo also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for alleging corruption in the Chhattisgarh government. He also said that the PM and others from the Central leadership are not fighting for governance in Chhattisgarh. He pointed out that senior BJP leaders only come to the state during elections.

“Mr Modi is not fighting for the chief minister’s responsibility or the governance of Chhattisgarh. We have not seen Mr. Modi in Chhattisgarh in almost all of the last five years,” he told PTI.

Singhdeo said that the top BJP leaders come, and they campaign. Their charisma and aura are such that people come and listen. But when it comes to electing their leaders, he said, “the mature voter sees who is going to deliver.”

“Mr Modi is not fighting for the chief minister’s responsibility or the governance of Chhattisgarh. We have not seen Mr. Modi in Chhattisgarh in almost all of the last five years,” he said.

“It is just before elections that they (central leadership of BJP) come, either in Lok Sabha elections or just before assembly polls. Their presence is poll-related, they are not state-centric leaders seen by the voters here because they do not participate in the day-to-day governance of the state,” he added.

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Updated: 29 Oct 2023, 03:14 PM IST