Union Minister of State Charan Das Mahant became the first causality for the Congress debacle in the recent Assembly election in Chhattisgarh as the Congress high-command dumped him as Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief on Thursday and handed over the crucial assignment to Bhupesh Baghel, a hardcore opponent to Congress veteran and former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi.
The seasoned politician and former Minister in Jogi-led Congress Government in Chhattisgarh, Baghel, has promised to justify his appointment as the PCC chief by producing ‘highly improvement results’ in lok Sabha polls in the State.
“I will do the best to live up to the expectations of the party high-command, I will try to take everyone along to rejuvenate party in the State and cadre who are feeling slightly demoralised by recent Assembly polls as the Congress failed to halt the BJP’s winning streak just by less than one percent votes difference,” Baghel told The Pioneer.
The frontline Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh have hailed Baghel’s appointment as the new PCC chief and said, he has knack and potential to lead the party against the BJP which is ruling the State since December 2003.
Jogi has said in his initial reactions that the Congress would regain ground in the State with Baghel at the helm of affairs.
Baghel has been credited in political circles for making sensational allegations against the BJP Government in recent years and he had charged up political atmosphere in the State just ahead of the Assembly polls when he had released a CD to highlight the alleged corruption by some BJP Government Ministers.
Baghel had even moved to a local court in Raipur against Chief Minister Raman Singh for his alleged role in handing over a massive chunk of Government land almost free of cost in Korba to aluminium major BAlCO for building up a massive coal-fired power plant.
The Congress sources informed that the speculation about the removal of Mahant from the PCC chief was doing the round around for some time as he failed to unite various factions of the Congress in State and even failed to patch up with Jogi who is considered the most-powerful Congress leader in Chhattisgarh.
Mahant had also owned responsibility for the electoral defeat of the party in the Assembly polls and had offered resignation as the PCC chief.The 53-year-old Baghel began his political career with the youth Congress. He was elected to the State Assembly for the first time from Patan constituency of Durg district in 1993.