Chhattisgarh’s powerful OBC leader Bhupesh Baghel who single-handedly guided Congress to rout BJP in Assembly polls, has displayed his superb fighting ability before party’s central leadership on Saturday in Delhi for the Chief Ministerial post and refused to back down despite all odds.
Congress which has staged a stunning victory in the mineral-rich State after 15 years, is struggling to zero in on a single name for the CM post and the party deferred its scheduled legislature party meeting in Raipur till Sunday.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted a photo on Saturday with four of his Chhattisgarh’s comrades which gave impression that his blue-eyed boy and party’s lone Lok Sabha MP from the State Tamradhwaj Sahu has clear edge over Baghel, TS Singh Deo and Charandas Mahant.
But latest reports confirmed that Baghel has refused to pull out from the CM race despite Congress general secretary and party incharge for Chhattisgarh PL Punia has reportedly sided with Sahu.
Baghel has played his power game very smartly on Saturday and unconfirmed reports say that Congress has finally conceded to Baghel’s Chief Ministerial claim.
There is a sense among rank and file of the Congress in Chhattisgarh that Baghel deserves to be the Chief Minister of the Congress Government because he led the party from the front for the past five years and took the dominant BJP Government head-on.