Congress OBC face in Chhattisgarh was sworn in on Monday as the states new chief minister, after the partys landslide victory over the BJP in the Assembly polls this year. Having taken the final decision over the weekend, Congress president Rahul Gandhi made the announcement in Raipur on Sunday afternoon. The Cabinet and its members will be announced later, informed AICC observor Mallikarjun Kharje.
Often regarded as the Organisation man, Baghel was made chief minister after a protracted period of deliberations and back-and-forth among Congress central and state representatives, including a meeting between the frontrunners and the Congress top leadership in Delhi, followed by a meeting of the Congress Legislative Party. The 57-year-old MLA from Patan ultimately beat three strong contenders, Tribhuvaneshwar Saran Singh Deo (leader of the Opposition who drafted the unique election manifesto), Charan Das Mahant (former union minister) and Tamradhwaj Sahu (AICC OBC wing chief), to the high seat.
Political careerwatch
According to The Indian Express, however, an arrangement has been chalked up between Baghel and Singhdeo to serve two-and-a-half years in office each as chief minister.
Baghel, hailing from the backward Kurmi class, began his rise in state politics in 2013 when a Maoist attack in Bastar exterminated most of the state Congresss top leadership.
Then led by Ajit Jogi, the party lost three consecutive elections to the BJP in 2003, 2008 and 2013 Assembly elections. Jogi eventually quit Congress and became a harsh critic of the Congress, following which the leaders decided to appoint as its state president, someone who had historically never got along well with the turncoat. After having defeated the BJP-led Raman Singh government, Bhagel has clearly proven himself as the right choice.
What worked in his favour
When Bhagel took over the state unit in 2014, his first challenge was to consolidate the weakened and factious base. At a time when the BJP came to new power at the centre as well as the state, this was an onerous task, but the then-deputy leader of Opposition in the Chhattisgarh assembly executed it with strong organisational skills and aggressive campaigns, often touring the state on foot to revive the mass perception of Congress at the grassroots level.
This did not always go down well with other Congress leaders including Jogi who disapproved of his political strategies on more occasion than one, but it is what believed to have brought Congress its landslide victory of 68 seats in the 90-member Assembly this year, leaving the BJP with only 15 seats.
After the election results were announced on December 11, Gandhi even sought an unprecedented referendum through the Shakti app where nearly two lakh party workers and newly-elected legislators polled in their choice for a chief ministerial candidate. Bhagel pulled ahead of senior lawmakers Singh Deo and Sahu in the end.
A pre-poll fake news scandal also seems to have boomeranged in his favour of Bhagel after he was chargesheeted by the CBI and arrested for 14 days for allegedly circulating a licentious CD involving a senior member of Raman Singhs government. The jail term reportedly worked in gaining sympathy in his favour, although he has reiterated the charges against him were fabricated.
The OBC factor
The biggest factor, however, was something that PL Punia and other general secretaries pushed very hard on: the OBC factor. That, this is an OBC state, and the election was swung on OBC votes coming to the Congress, and therefore for 2019, there should be an OBC leader. All three, other than Singh Deo, fit the bill, a Congress leader told the press.
According to Ruchir Garg, a former senior journalist who joined Chhattisgarh Congress before the polls, Baghels strong anti-establishment image, and his agitations over agrarian issues and rural distress, acted in his favour. He is among the section of the Congress which insists on going into the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with an OBC chief minister.
He has been vocal against the RSS-BJP combine and has exposed corruption in the Raman Singh government. With strong secular credentials, he led the Congress fight against the BJP, Garg told Firstpost.
CMspeak
Baghel told reporters, Our first priority will be the loan waiver that we have promised for farmers in the first ten days. We will also look to set up an Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the Jhiram attack, which has been a longstanding demand. I am confident that this will be a government that will take everyone along, and a new Chhattisgarh will be built.
Second will be to procure paddy crops on increased minimum support price as promised in our partys manifesto, he added, confident that he will not ignore or breach the tribals trust like his predecessor had. We will impose a ban on outsourcing in government jobs with proper planning to facilitate more job creations.
Often regarded as the Organisation man, Baghel was made chief minister after a protracted period of deliberations and back-and-forth among Congress central and state representatives, including a meeting between the frontrunners and the Congress top leadership in Delhi, followed by a meeting of the Congress Legislative Party. The 57-year-old MLA from Patan ultimately beat three strong contenders, Tribhuvaneshwar Saran Singh Deo (leader of the Opposition who drafted the unique election manifesto), Charan Das Mahant (former union minister) and Tamradhwaj Sahu (AICC OBC wing chief), to the high seat.
Political careerwatch
According to The Indian Express, however, an arrangement has been chalked up between Baghel and Singhdeo to serve two-and-a-half years in office each as chief minister.
Baghel, hailing from the backward Kurmi class, began his rise in state politics in 2013 when a Maoist attack in Bastar exterminated most of the state Congresss top leadership.
Then led by Ajit Jogi, the party lost three consecutive elections to the BJP in 2003, 2008 and 2013 Assembly elections. Jogi eventually quit Congress and became a harsh critic of the Congress, following which the leaders decided to appoint as its state president, someone who had historically never got along well with the turncoat. After having defeated the BJP-led Raman Singh government, Bhagel has clearly proven himself as the right choice.
What worked in his favour
When Bhagel took over the state unit in 2014, his first challenge was to consolidate the weakened and factious base. At a time when the BJP came to new power at the centre as well as the state, this was an onerous task, but the then-deputy leader of Opposition in the Chhattisgarh assembly executed it with strong organisational skills and aggressive campaigns, often touring the state on foot to revive the mass perception of Congress at the grassroots level.
This did not always go down well with other Congress leaders including Jogi who disapproved of his political strategies on more occasion than one, but it is what believed to have brought Congress its landslide victory of 68 seats in the 90-member Assembly this year, leaving the BJP with only 15 seats.
After the election results were announced on December 11, Gandhi even sought an unprecedented referendum through the Shakti app where nearly two lakh party workers and newly-elected legislators polled in their choice for a chief ministerial candidate. Bhagel pulled ahead of senior lawmakers Singh Deo and Sahu in the end.
A pre-poll fake news scandal also seems to have boomeranged in his favour of Bhagel after he was chargesheeted by the CBI and arrested for 14 days for allegedly circulating a licentious CD involving a senior member of Raman Singhs government. The jail term reportedly worked in gaining sympathy in his favour, although he has reiterated the charges against him were fabricated.
The OBC factor
The biggest factor, however, was something that PL Punia and other general secretaries pushed very hard on: the OBC factor. That, this is an OBC state, and the election was swung on OBC votes coming to the Congress, and therefore for 2019, there should be an OBC leader. All three, other than Singh Deo, fit the bill, a Congress leader told the press.
According to Ruchir Garg, a former senior journalist who joined Chhattisgarh Congress before the polls, Baghels strong anti-establishment image, and his agitations over agrarian issues and rural distress, acted in his favour. He is among the section of the Congress which insists on going into the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with an OBC chief minister.
He has been vocal against the RSS-BJP combine and has exposed corruption in the Raman Singh government. With strong secular credentials, he led the Congress fight against the BJP, Garg told Firstpost.
CMspeak
Baghel told reporters, Our first priority will be the loan waiver that we have promised for farmers in the first ten days. We will also look to set up an Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the Jhiram attack, which has been a longstanding demand. I am confident that this will be a government that will take everyone along, and a new Chhattisgarh will be built.
Second will be to procure paddy crops on increased minimum support price as promised in our partys manifesto, he added, confident that he will not ignore or breach the tribals trust like his predecessor had. We will impose a ban on outsourcing in government jobs with proper planning to facilitate more job creations.
Congress’ OBC in Chhattisgarh was sworn in on Monday as the state’s new chief minister, after the party’s landslide victory over the BJP in the Assembly polls this year. Having taken the final decision over the weekend, Congress president Rahul Gandhi made the announcement in Raipur on Sunday afternoon. The Cabinet and its members will be announced later, informed AICC Mallikarjun Kharje.
Often regarded as the Organisation man,” Baghel was made chief minister after a protracted period of deliberations and back-and-forth among Congress central and state representatives, including a meeting between the frontrunners and the Congress’ top leadership in Delhi, followed by a meeting of the Congress Legislative Party. The 57-year-old MLA from Patan ultimately beat three strong contenders, Tribhuvaneshwar Saran Singh Deo (leader of the Opposition who drafted the unique election manifesto), Charan Das Mahant (former union minister) and Tamradhwaj Sahu (AICC OBC wing chief), to the high seat.
Political careerwatch
According to The Indian Express, however, an arrangement has been chalked up between Baghel and Singhdeo to serve two-and-a-half years in each as chief minister.
Baghel, hailing from the “backward” Kurmi class, began his rise in state politics in 2013 when a Maoist attack in Bastar exterminated most of the state Congress’s top leadership.
Then led by Ajit Jogi, the party lost three consecutive elections to the BJP in 2003, 2008 and 2013 Assembly elections. Jogi eventually quit Congress and became a harsh critic of the Congress, following which the leaders decided to appoint as its state president, someone who had historically never got along well with the turncoat. After having defeated the BJP-led Raman Singh government, Bhagel has clearly proven himself as the right choice.
What worked in his favour
When Bhagel took over the state unit in 2014, his first challenge was to consolidate the weakened and factious base. At a time when the BJP came to new power at the centre as well as the state, this was an onerous task, but the then-deputy leader of Opposition in the Chhattisgarh assembly executed it with strong organisational skills and aggressive campaigns, often touring the state on foot to revive the mass perception of Congress at the grassroots level.
This did not always go down well with other Congress leaders including Jogi who disapproved of his political strategies on more occasion than one, but it is what believed to have brought Congress its landslide victory of 68 seats in the 90-member Assembly this year, leaving the BJP with only 15 seats.
After the election results were announced on December 11, Gandhi even sought an unprecedented referendum through the Shakti app where nearly two lakh party workers and newly-elected legislators polled in their choice for a chief ministerial candidate. Bhagel pulled ahead of senior lawmakers Singh Deo and Sahu in the end.
A pre-poll fake news scandal also seems to have boomeranged in his of Bhagel after he was by the CBI and arrested for 14 days for allegedly circulating a licentious CD involving a senior member of Raman Singh’s government. The jail term reportedly worked in gaining sympathy in his , although he has reiterated the charges against him were fabricated.
The OBC factor
The biggest factor, however, was something that PL Punia and other general secretaries pushed very hard on: the OBC factor. That, this is an OBC state, and the election was swung on OBC votes coming to the Congress, and therefore for 2019, there should be an OBC leader. All three, other than Singh Deo, fit the bill, a Congress leader told the press.
According to Ruchir Garg, a former senior journalist who joined Chhattisgarh Congress before the polls, Baghel’s strong anti-establishment image, and his agitations over agrarian issues and rural distress, acted in his .” He is among the section of the Congress which insists on going into the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with an OBC chief minister.
“He has been vocal against the RSS-BJP combine and has exposed corruption in the Raman Singh government. With strong secular credentials, he led the Congress fight against the BJP, Garg told Firstpost.
CMspeak
Baghel told reporters, Our first priority will be the loan waiver that we have promised for farmers in the first ten days. We will also look to set up into the Jhiram attack, which has been a longstanding demand. I am confident that this will be a government that will take everyone along, and a new Chhattisgarh will be built.
Second will be to procure paddy crops on increased minimum support price as promised in our partys manifesto, he added, confident that he will not ignore or breach the tribals’ trust like his predecessor had. We will impose a ban on outsourcing in government jobs with proper planning to facilitate more job creations.
Prarthana Mitra is a staff writer at Qrius