Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday officially took over as president of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee (CGPCC). He was appointed as State Congress chief following the party’s Assembly poll debacle forcing AICC chief Sonia Gandhi to effect an immediate leadership change in Chhattisgarh.
Bagel replaced Union Minister Charan Das Mahant who resigned as CGPCC chief owing moral responsibility for the Congress defeat in Chhattisgarh poll. The new CGPCC chief assumed charge at a function held at Congress Bhavan in the presence of Mahant after receiving a resounding welcome from the party’s supporters at Swami Vivekanand Airport in Raipur.
later, addressing a Press conference, Bagel said that his immediate task would be to prepare for the lok Sabha polls under the guidance of Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi. “We will take on the communal forces in Chhattisgarh and win in all the 11 lok Sabha seats,” he said. Baghel told The Pioneer that his other task would be to follow the legacy of late Nand Kumar Patel in creating a responsible Opposition in the State Assembly.
When asked about his task ahead with the lesson of a poll debacle, he said, “We would continue to strengthen our position in the Assembly seats won by us and do better.”