Amid speculation of leadership change in Chhattisgarh, the Congress displayed a show of faith in the state’s chief minister Bhupesh Baghel by appointing him as the party’s senior observer for the Uttar Pradesh assembly election, which will be held in February 2022.
In a press release issued by the grand old party on Saturday, the Congress said, “…Congress President has appointed Shri Bhupesh Baghel, Chief Minister, Chhattisgarh as AICC Senior Observer for the ensuing Assembly Elections in Uttar Pradesh with immediate effect.”
There are 403 seats at stake in the Uttar Pradesh election. In the previous assembly election in 2017, the BJP came to power with an overwhelming majority of 325 seats.
Baghel was also the observer for the Assam assembly election held in March. Winning a total of 50 seats, the Congress lost the election. The BJP won a majority 75 seats and became the first non-Congress alliance to win two consecutive terms in the state. The Congress, however, gained 26 seats since the 2016 election.
Tension within Chhattisgarh Congress has been rife over the past few days with MLAs arriving in Delhi in a supposed show of strength. The Congress seems to be divided into two camps in the state — one belonging to Baghel and the other to state health minister TS Singh Deo.
Sources in the Baghel camp, however, have repeatedly insisted that the MLAs are reaching Delhi of their own accord and there was no show of strength going on.
The supposed feud comes at a time when the Congress is already facing an ongoing crisis within its ranks in Punjab. Charanjit Singh Channi took over as the new chief minister following Captain Amarinder Singh’s resignation over a political tussle between him and Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.
The demand for change of guard in Chhattisgarh surfaced after Baghel completed two-and-a-half years as chief minister in June 2021, and Singh Deo’s supporters demanded change in leadership despite the Congress not saying anything about rotation in the state’s top position when it came to power in 2018.
Earlier in the day, responding to former CM Dr Raman Singh’s comment that “Chhattisgarh is becoming Punjab”, Baghel had also said Chhattisgarh could never become Punjab.
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