Baghel’s promotion as Congress state prez proved to be wise call
RAIPUR: Bhupesh Baghel has been Chhattisgarh Congress president for the last five years and has taken former chief minister Raman Singh’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government head-on. Baghel belongs to the Kurmi community, which makes up around 14% of the state’s electorate.
Baghel was entrusted with the task of reviving the Congress’ fortunes in the state after the party suffered a third consecutive defeat in Assembly polls in 2013. At that time, infighting within the party was at its peak; a group led by former chief minister Ajit Jogi had issues with several rival leaders.
The elevation of Baghel as the party’s state president did not go down well with Jogi. In 2015-16, after the surfacing of an audio tape that purportedly revealed that a bypoll held for the Antagarh assembly seat in 2014 had been fixed, Jogi was expelled from the Congress. After the for- mation of the state in 2000, Baghel had served as revenue minister in the Jogi government (2000-2003).
“Baghel, an aggressive leader, gave Congress a new face. He was the only person who fought against the policies and the influence of RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) in the state. I believe logically he should be given a chance for the CM post,” said a senior Congress leader, requesting anonymity.
Baghel was MLA from the Patan Seat in 1993 and then in 1998 and 2003.
In the 2008 assembly election, he was defeated by the BJP’s Vijay Baghel.
In 2009, he contested the Lok Sabha election from Raipur but lost to BJP’s Ramesh Bais. In 2013, he again fought the assembly election from Patan and was elected.