BHUPESH BAGHEL'S overconfidence as Chhattisgarh chief minister was, perhaps, what resulted in his undoing in the assembly polls last year. Under his leadership, the Congress was reduced to 35 seats in the 90-member assembly, down from 68 in 2018.
The result could have been different had Baghel adhered to the power-sharing arrangement made in 2018, which would have allowed party colleague T.S. Singh Deo to become chief minister in the second half of the five-year term. But Baghel not only refused to honour his word, but even paraded MLAs who supported him before the Congress high command to stay on as chief minister. Deo, whose camaraderie with Baghel had once earned the duo the moniker 'Jai and Veeru' (after the lead characters in Sholay), had no choice but to make peace with the situation. He was made deputy chief minister just six months before the conclusion of the term.
It was because of the combined efforts of Baghel and Deo that the Congress could return to power in Chhattisgarh in 2018. Baghel led the party organisation while Deo was leader of the opposition in the assembly.
The party's downfall began with Baghel going back on his word. As the Priyanka Gandhi Vadra camp in the Congress openly favoured Baghel, who was putting up a good show of his government's achievements, the party in Chhattisgarh cracked from within because of doubts and suspicions between rival camps. The poll results came as a jolt to the Congress leadership, which was confident of retaining power in Raipur.
This story is from the May 05, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 05, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Angry, Young America
Campus protests against the Gaza war continue to linger as students demand a realignment of US ties with Israel
We need to engage more with communities
Designer Aratrik Dev Varman of the label Tilla has long been a lover of history. One could comfortably call him part-aesthete, part-archeologist, for his clothes dip into vintage styles of the Kutch, Sindh, Balochistan and Afghanistan, bringing alive antique styles and crafts. Tilla, the store and atelier, are situated on a tree-lined avenue in Ahmedabad.
The great luxury slowdown
A year or so ago, if anyone had told me that Tommy Hilfiger would have stolen the show at New York’s Met Gala, I would have laughed. But it seems the end of giant luxury labels is upon us even before we expected it. The American ready-to-wear designer Tommy Hilfiger seems to have created the maximum media buzz at the 2024 Met Gala, according to several data analytics firms.
RAP BRINGS RAPTURE
How indie artistes, especially hip-hoppers, are driving the phenomenal rise of Malayalam music
Employability issues are a narrative created by the corporate world
Prof Yogesh Singh is the 23rd vice chancellor of the century-old University of Delhi (DU). An engineer with a PhD in computer engineering, Singh has an impressive track record of teaching, innovation and research in the area of software engineering. He has more than 250 publications and his book, Software Testing, published by the Cambridge University Press, is well-received internationally. In an interview with THE WEEK, Singh talks about trends in higher education in India, the challenges faced by big universities, and how to make higher education more interesting. Asked about the perception that Indian graduates are “not employable”, he reacts strongly, and emphasises the difference between training and higher education. Edited excerpts:
SERVING WITH DISTINCTION
Conceived as a university like no other, Jawaharlal Nehru University became India's best. Here is how
Mandela Effect and Liar's Dividend
The complex tapestry of AI's impact on society
The other Sabyasachi
I am Sabyasachi Mukherjee, not to be confused with my namesake, the celebrated fashion couturier, declared the venerated director-general of Mumbai’s pride, George Wittet’s Indo-Saracenic jewel, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum.
THE MANGO HUNTERS
'Naadan Maavukal' started out as a Facebook group, but what it does offline has helped conserve many indigenous varieties of mangoes
BJP LEADERS, TOO, HAVE HAD ENOUGH
Farmers’ protest has taken the centre stage in Haryana, which goes to the polls on May 25. Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is confident that the Congress, which has been out of power for 10 years, will regain its hold on the state. “People who voted for the BJP are disappointed today. It is clear that they want change,” he told THE WEEK.
