Rift escalates as CM Bhupesh Baghel delays Delhi visit despite Congress directive: Sources

Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel has delayed his visit to Delhi despite the Congress high command summoning him amid the political crisis in the state, sources revealed. The party top brass had reportedly asked him to reach the national capital by Tuesday owing to his unwillingness to pave the way for TS Singh Deo's elevation as the CM. Moreover, sources indicated that the Sonia Gandhi-led party threatened to take strict action against Baghel if he doesn't budge from his stance and contemplated calling a meeting of the Legislative Party on the lines of Punjab.

While a special plane landed in Raipur, only Chhattisgarh Congress president Mohan Makram, some MLAs and other officials are likely to go to Delhi. On the other hand, Baghel will arrive in Lucknow at 10.30 am on Monday. The infighting in the Congress' state unit has been attributed to Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singh Deo's insistence that he should be made the CM as per the rotational formula.

Congress infighting in Chhattisgarh

In the last 5 years of the Raman Singh-led government, Bhupesh Baghel functioned as the Congress state president while Deo was the Leader of Opposition. Thereafter, Congress swept the 2018 Chhattisgarh Assembly election by winning 68 out of 90 seats while BJP was reduced to a mere 15 seats. However, the party faced a tough task in selecting the Chief Minister as 4 contenders for the top post- Baghel, Deo, Charandas Mahant and Tamradhwaj Sahu. At this juncture, Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi reportedly proposed a formula via which Baghel would become the CM and Deo would take over two and a half years later. 

The dissent in the Deo camp has been brewing ever since Baghel refused to abide by this purported agreement even as the two-and-a-half-year deadline elapsed. In late August, the CM invited the Congress' top brass' displeasure after he brought over 40 MLAs with him to Delhi to demonstrate his support. On September 24, Deo publicly acknowledged the existence of a rotational CM formula and refused to rule out a change in guard. 

On October 2, Baghel was appointed as the AICC senior observer for the upcoming Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh leading to speculation that the Congress top brass still has faith in his leadership. This perception was strengthened by the fact that he was a part of the 5-member delegation led by Rahul Gandhi who visited members of the farmers who were killed in the Lakhimpur violence. Furthermore, he also addressed Congress' mega 'Kisan Nyay' rally which witnessed the participation of Vadra, Deepender Singh Hooda, Salman Khurshid and Ajay Kumar Lallu.