Chhattisgarh CM far from done deal

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 15

Finalisation of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister today turned out to be more challenging for the Congress leadership than they had thought.

At the end of several rounds of back and forth discussions between Congress president Rahul Gandhi and four CM aspirants, there was no final word on who will get to wear the crown.

All there was at the end of the day, which saw UPA chief Sonia Gandhi counsel her son, was a group picture with Chhattisgarh CM aspirants by Rahul Gandhi.

This frame — like the ones posted with Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan leaders — was the only signal that tensions had been resolved and an announcement would follow.

The picture was captioned with American entrepreneur Reid Hoffman’s quote, “No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team.”

But the fact that the CM’s announcement won’t happen until tomorrow is indicative of some unresolved issues. Gandhi, it is learnt, favoured AICC OBC cell chief and Lok Sabha MP Tamradhwaj Sahu, 69, for the CM’s job but other contenders objected, arguing that Sahu had not worked in the state for five years and was brought in to contest Assembly elections at the last minute.

Other contenders — outgoing Congress Legislature Party leader and three-term MLA TS Singhdeo, state unit chief Bhupesh Baghel and former Union minister Charandas Mahant — had not come on board for Sahu until late this evening though efforts to mollify them went on through the day with even Rahul’s sister Priyanka getting involved.

Later in evening, Sonia Gandhi arrived at her son’s residence to continue the consultations and shortly thereafter Gandhi posted the picture.

While it’s unclear whether Sahu continues to be the final choice, sources said the party at one time also mulled the option of dividing the CM’s five-year tenure equally between Bhupesh Baghel and Singhdeo. Sahu has caste equations favouring him. He is an OBC. Singhdeo is a royal from Ambikapur while Baghel is an OBC.