In a major political scoop accessed by Republic Media Network on the Chhattishgarh Congress crisis, party president Sonia Gandhi has asked Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel to resign before November. According to sources, CM Baghel has been asked to quit by October end.
On October 14, Republic had reported that TS Singh Deo might take charge as Chief Minister in November. The infighting in the Chhattisgarh Congress has been attributed to Deo’s demand that he should be given top chair as per the rotational formula. Recently, Deo, who is the state’s health minister, met AICC Chhattisgarh in charge PL Punia in Raipur and discussed the possibility of a change of guard in the state.
Meanwhile, reports suggest that Baghel is trying to convince Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to save his post. This development comes a day after the Congress Working Committee in which the party discussed the current political situation, upcoming elections and organisational elections.
After the Congress swept the 2018 Chhattisgarh assembly polls by winning 68 of the 90 assembly seats, the grand old party had the tough task of selecting the chief minister- as there were four contenders for the top post-Baghel, Deo, Tamradhwaj Sahu and Charandas Mahant. At this juncture, Rahul Gandhi reportedly proposed the 2.5 formula which meant that Baghel and Deo would keep the top post for two and a half years each.
The demur in the Deo camp has been stewing since Baghel refused to hand over the CM post to Deo after the two-and-a-half-year deadline elapsed. In August, Baghel took over 40 MLAs with him in Delhi to show support. However, later, Deo publicly acknowledged the rotational CM policy.
“It is a big decision and the high command will take into account several factors. People are talking about the 2.5-2.5 years formula. Even 2.5 years have elapsed. This is not a new thing. This has been discussed in the public domain,” he had said.
