Raipur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel participated in the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting held in Delhi on Monday. Upon his return to Raipur late in the evening, he engaged with journalists at the airport. During the interaction, Baghel stated that the Central Election Committee’s meeting would be convened soon, and tickets for Congress candidates would be issued promptly. He commented on the recent second list released by the BJP, claiming that the BJP had taken a gamble on defeated candidates.
Regarding the CWC meeting, Baghel mentioned that Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge had emphasized the importance of caste-based population census. All CWC members endorsed this idea, as such a census is crucial for the development of all communities. The discussion in the meeting also centered around creating plans based on caste, economic, and educational criteria.
Baghel criticized the BJP’s second list, stating that the party had placed its bets on candidates who had already been rejected by the public. He asserted that the BJP lacked viable candidates and no matter how hard they tried, victory would elude them. Baghel specifically noted the allocation of a ticket to Dr. Raman Singh by the BJP, remarking that Dr. Raman Singh’s influence in the party was evident, and the leak of the BJP’s list was well-known.
He further pointed out that Central Ministers and MPs had been given tickets to contest from other Lok Sabha constituencies. For example, Renuka Singh, an MP from Surguja, was given a ticket from Korba. Vishnudev Sai, who was representing Kunakuri, and OP Choudhary from Kharsia resigned. Baghel accused the BJP of betting on defeated candidates and highlighted that the BJP was trying to use violence in Birnar, turning it into a communal issue, but it would not succeed as the people saw through their tactics.