The Congress Party has selected Bhupesh Baghel, its party president in the Chhattisgarh, as the state's chief minister after he lead them to a resounding victory in the assembly elections.
The decision comes after Congress President Rahul Gandhi held discussions with top party members over the weekend for selecting the chief minister of the Naxal-affected state. Gandhi held several rounds of discussions on Saturday with the four aspirants for the post—TS Singh Deo, Tamradhwaj Sahu, Bhupesh Baghel and Charan Das Mahant—at his Tughlaq Lane residence in New Delhi.
Celebrations are in order in Chhattisgarh as @Bhupesh_Baghel is appointed CM. We wish him the best as he forms a govt. of equality, transparency & integrity starting off with farm loan waiver for farmers as we promised. pic.twitter.com/7OqGcPi2eh
Baghel, 57, is a prominent Dalit leader of the Kurmi caste and hails from Chattisgarh's Durg district. He had won from the Patan constituency.
One of the lesser known faces in Congress, Baghel was appointed the transport minister in Digvijaya Singh's cabinet in Madhya Pradesh, before Chhattisgarh was carved out. After that, he held the post in Ajit Jogi's cabinet.
After losing in the 2008 assembly elections, Baghel had staged a comeback in 2013 and then rose to become the president of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee.
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
