Bhilai: State health minister TS Singh Deo on Sunday interacting with the media at Indian Coffee House Supela Bhilai cleared speculation on the tussle that had surfaced for the Chhattisgarh chief ministerial post.
He also highlighted the benefits Chhattisgarh received since the Baghel govt took over the reigns from BJP in 2018.
In October 2021, conversations between Chhattisgarh’s top leaders and the party’s central leaders emerged amid reports of a power-sharing formula between Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and his cabinet colleague health minister TS Singh Deo, with the latter looking for clarity going forward, according to people familiar with the matter.
In December 2018, in the aftermath of a dominant Congress performance where the party won 68 of 90 seats, even as the party’s Delhi leadership sought to put out leadership fires in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh emerged as a problem too.
Four state leaders, Baghel, home minister Tamradhwaj Sahu, speaker Charan Das Mahant, and Singh Deo flew to Delhi, all eyeing the chief minister’s post. As Mahant settled for speaker, friction between Baghel and Singh Deo meant that Sahu first emerged as the front-runner; but pushed by the idea that a third leader would take the top position, Baghel and Singh Deo, along with Punia and Rahul Gandhi, reportedly arrived at a power-sharing arrangement over the next five years.