'Raman Singh Has Failed On All Counts. And Congress Is Irrelevant.'

In the run-up to the Chhattisgarh assembly polls, Ajit Jogi, the state’s first CM, seems confident of a good show.

After quitting the Congress, Jogi floated the Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (JCC) in 2016. A seat-sharing agreement with the BSP and the CPI is in place, and the bureaucrat-turned-politician hopes to make significant gains in the elections to be held on November 12 and 20. He tells Preetha Nair that his fight is against the BJP as the Congress is irrelevant in the state.

There has been a spike in Maoist vio­lence. Two policemen and a Door­darshan journalist were killed in Dantewada in the latest attack. Has the Raman Singh government failed to tackle the guerrillas?

Raman Singh has failed to control the law and order situation. He is putting everyone’s life at risk. I have been visit­ ing the place regularly. Despite 50,000 police personnel deployed there, the situation is still out of control. The government has failed on all counts.

You are now contesting from Marwahi instead of Rajnandgaon, where you had earlier proclaimed you’d be tak­ ing on CM Raman Singh. Why this change of mind?