In Chhattisgarh, the contest remains bipolar between the Congress and the BJP. The other parties have tried several times but failed to make space for themselves in the State, Health Minister T.S. Singh Deo said in an interview to The Hindu, a day after he confirmed that he had been approached by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) during an informal interaction with the media in Raipur.
“Several parties have tried to make inroads in Chhattisgarh in the last few years. The NCP [Nationalist Congress Party] and the BSP [Bahujan Samaj Party] have fought multiple elections here. Then there is late Ajit Jogi’s party that failed to make a significant mark,” Mr. Singh Deo said.
The AAP on March 21 took out a rally in Raipur and has started a membership drive in the State preparing for the Assembly election which is about 17 months away.
Mr. Deo who since May 2021 has had seven rounds of meetings with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the Gandhi siblings, has staked a claim to the Chief Minister’s post, reportedly on the strength of a promise made by then party president Rahul Gandhi. As per the agreed formula, the current Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, after completing 2.5 years in the seat should have relinquished the post in favour of Mr. Singh Deo in May 2021. So far, there is no word from the central leadership on whether this formula will be honoured.
Speaking about the threat to the Congress from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the AAP, which are trying to elbow it out of the position of the lead Opposition party, Mr. Singh Deo said, “It is the Congress alone that has a presence in every polling booth of the country. It may be weak somewhere and stronger elsewhere, but we are the only party to have a pan-India presence.” But at the same time, he appreciated the TMC’s performance against the BJP in West Bengal. “Ms. Banerjee has clearly shown that she can stand up and fight both PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.” But he was cautious with his praise for the AAP. The AAP may have emerged unexpectedly as an alternative both in Punjab and Delhi, but it has a long way to go. “If you see, AAP does not have an organisational presence,” Mr. Singh Deo pointed out.
With Mr. Singh Deo still waiting for the party leadership to come true on their promise, is he not tempted to jump the ship like many of his colleagues have done?
“My goal was not to hanker after a chair. I was a hesitant political entrant and still remain uncomfortable with many aspects of politics. But I feel that I have an important contribution to make to the State and its people,” he said.
He added that workers, bound by the party’s discipline, will continue to do whatever the central leadership asked of him.
