SECURE IN HIS CITADEL

BAGHEL IS RELYING ON HIS PRO-RURAL SCHEMES AND THE CONGRESS'S TRADITIONAL TRIBAL SUPPORT BASE TO HELP HIM WIN A SECOND TERM

- RAHUL NORONHA

"Kaka abhi zinda hai (Your uncle is still alive),” is an oft-repeated assurance from Chh attisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel at his ‘bhentmulakat’ outreach programme across the state’s 90 assembly segments, which began in May last year. Now, as the 62-year-old ‘avuncular’ leader barnstorms down the state, he wants an assurance from the electorate in return—that they will give his Congress regime another five years in power. Baghel, as the then Pradesh Congress Committee president, had led the Congress to an unprecedented win in 2018, winning 68 of the 90 seats in Chhattisgarh. The party has only grown stronger since then, winning all five byelections. Its present tally in the state assembly stands at 71, even as that of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—which ruled the state for three consecutive terms under former chief minister Raman Singh—has dropped from 15 to 14 in the past five years.