Amid rift in Chhattisgarh Congress, former Congress
President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday met Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Health
Minister T.S. Singh Deo.
Baghel and Deo met Rahul Gandhi at his residence here on
Tuesday.
The meeting of these two leaders with Rahul Gandhi came
amid Deo's reported claims for the top post in the state, demanding rotational
chief ministership.
Both Baghel and Deo met with Rahul Gandhi as the
infighting in Chhatisgarh Congress threatens to boil over.
According to party leaders, the two state leaders will
also meet Chhattisgarh in-charge P.L. Punia and others.
The meeting assumes significance following the exit of
Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev from the party recently. The Congress had
earlier faced similar situation in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Karnataka, and some northeastern states.
There were several reports of differences between Baghel
and Deo, with the latter lobbying hard for months to replace Chief Minister
Baghel. On July 27, Deo walked out of the Assembly saying, "it is too
much" after the opposition created an uproar demanding a House panel probe
into Congress MLA Brihaspat Singh's charge that the Minister was behind an
attack on him.
Deo and Baghel have been making several trips to the
national capital. Deo, for the record, maintains that "Sonia Gandhiji and
Rahul Gandhiji will decide." Following his visit, Baghel also rushed to
the national capital in July this year.
During his Delhi visit, Baghel said he would abide by the
decision of the leadership and returned to Raipur in the same plane with Deo.
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After the 2018 Assembly elections, names of Baghel, Deo,
Charan Das Mahant and Tamradhwaj Sahu were doing the rounds for the post of the
chief minister in the state. However, Baghel emerged as the winner after having
several meetings with the Congress top leadership.
There also have been reports that Congress had adopted CM
post-sharing formula to accommodate Baghel and Deo. The Congress has completed
two and half years in the state in June this year.