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Chhattisgarh Assembly Election Results 2018: Tamradhwaj Sahu proved to be the right pick by Congress, at the right time
Six months ago, Tamradhwaj Sahu was appointed chairman of the All India Congress Committee’s OBC cell by party president Rahul Gandhi, who gave him the task of mobilising the Sahu vote.
Tamradhwaj Sahu of Congress is considered to be the dark horse for the post of Chhattisgarh chief minister. Party insiders believe that Sahu’s role in the recently concluded assembly election was important as he managed to dent the traditional Other Backward Class (OBC) vote bank of the BJP.
The Sahu community, which makes up about 16-18% of Chhattisgarh’s population, had been voting for the BJP after the ouster of the Ajit Jogi regime, but after Sahu rose to prominence,a large section of them is believed to have switched sides to the Congress party.
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Six months ago, Sahu was appointed chairman of the All India Congress Committee’s OBC cell by party president Rahul Gandhi, who gave him the task of mobilising the Sahu vote.
“Because of Sahu, more than 60% from his community voted for Congress and they want him to be CM. Secondly, they are the second dominant community after ST (scheduled tribe), hence he has a fair chance,” said Ashok Tomar, a political analyst based in Raipur.
In 1998, Sahu was elected to the Dhamdha seat and continued to remain an MLA till 2008. In 2014, he was given the party ticket for the Durg Lok Sabha seat against the BJP’s prominent woman leader and then MP, Saroj Pandey, and defeated her.
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