BAGHEL VS BJP

With five of 11 seats in Chhattisgarh expecting a close contest, Congress is once again relying on Bhupesh Baghel and his record as chief minister

- SHARAT PRADHAN

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.