When TS Singh Dev calms down, a new headache has arisen for Congress in Chhattisgarh, since 2018, Sahu community is raising its voice
In 2018, when the Congress won a majority on its own, there were many names in the race for CM. Tamradhwaj Sahu was one of them. Read Jayaprakash S Naidu’s report.
The Congress high command had eased the way for the party in the elections by giving the post of deputy CM to TS Singh Deo, who was a big headache for Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel. But it does not seem that this decision is going to give relief to the party. A new leader has started raising his head like a god. If the Gandhi family ignores them, then they may have to face a lot of difficulties in the coming assembly elections of Chhattisgarh.
In 2018, when the Congress won a majority on its own, there were many names in the race for CM. In this, the Gandhi family played a bet on Bhupesh Baghel. Efforts were made to pacify other leaders who were involved in the CM race by giving them one important portfolio or the other. Tamradhwaj Sahu was one of them. Sahu Samaj has a major presence in the OBC community of Chhattisgarh. Earlier he was with BJP but in 2018 he joined Congress.
Tamradhwaj was given three more important ministries along with home.
The high command knew that antagonizing the Sahu community could be costly. That’s why Tamradhwaj was given three more important ministries along with Home. TS Singh Dev was given a huge department like Panchayat along with health, then another contender for the post of CM, Charandas Mahant, was tried to make him a speaker. However, TS Singh Deo continued to create problems for Baghel throughout his tenure. With elections round the corner, the high command pacified TS Singh Deo by giving him the post of deputy CM, but it gave birth to another dissident.
BJP is trying to cash in on this very well. Party’s student wing leader Amit Sahu says that the Sahu community voted for the Congress in 2018 because they thought Tamradhwaj would become the CM. In the Modi wave of 2014, Tamradhwaj was the only leader who could win the Lok Sabha elections. In the 2018 assembly elections, Congress gave tickets to 7 Sahu leaders and 4 of them won. While BJP gave tickets to 11, only one won.
However, a leader of Sahu Samaj says that Tamradhwaj has become old now. In terms of time, it is necessary that a Sahu leader should be promoted. The leader of this section can be made PCC chief. Mohan Markam’s term as PCC chief is coming to an end anyway. However, one thing is good for the Congress in all this mess that Tamradhwaj Sahu is very close to CM Bhupesh Baghel. That means there is no possibility of rebellion.
