Political adversary of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel TS Singh Deo has been appointed as his deputy ahead of state elections scheduled for the end of the year, putting a stop to rumours about a change in the top position. The choice was decided Wednesday during a meeting held at the Delhi headquarters of the Congress. Later in the evening, the gathering made the declaration.
In a statement, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said: “INC President Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the proposal for appointment of TS Singh Deo as the Deputy Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh.”
“He is a loyal Congress leader and an able administrator. The state will benefit greatly from his services as Deputy CM. We are confident that the people of Chhattisgarh will re-elect the Congress with a thumping majority under the leadership of Kharge ji and Rahul Gandhi ji,” Mr Venugopal added.
According to sources, the step was taken to combat factionalism in a state where the party had a chance of gaining a second term.
Another leader clarified that the Congress has learned its lesson from Karnataka, where maintaining peace between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar proved to be difficult both before and after the polls. “It was to give TS Singh Deo his dues before the elections,” the other leader stated.
In the 2018 assembly election, Mr. Deo was one of the front-runners for the top position. But the Central leadership chose Mr. Baghel, a member of Other Backward Classes who oversaw the party’s election campaign.
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