Bhupesh Baghel has been Chhattisgarh president of the Congress for the last five years and has take Raman Singh’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government head on. Baghel belongs to the Kurmi community, which makes up around 14% of the state’s electorate.
In an interview with HT, Baghel spoke about the Congress’s sweeping victory and who is likely to be the next chief minister of Chhattisgarh.
What do you attribute this victory to?
Rahul Gandhi is completing his first year as Congress president and the credit should go to him for his able leadership. Then, there’s the hard work put in by our state in-charge PL Punia and his team. The collective effort of the Congress leadership and dedication of Congress workers has made this victory possible.
I would say that this is a victory of the people of Chhattisgarh, as this puts an end to the suffering of farmers, unemployed youth, tribals and every other section of the society.
What are the main factors that have helped the Congress win these polls in Chhattisgarh ?
We have been fighting for every section of society for the last five years. We fought for farmers, victims of chit fund companies, government employees etc. Rahul Gandhi’s call for the waiver of farmers’ loans has helped us immensely, it later became a pivotal part of our manifesto.
{{/usCountry}}We have been fighting for every section of society for the last five years. We fought for farmers, victims of chit fund companies, government employees etc. Rahul Gandhi’s call for the waiver of farmers’ loans has helped us immensely, it later became a pivotal part of our manifesto.
{{/usCountry}}Who will be the next CM of Chhattisgarh?
The Congress is a democratic party. After all the results are out, there will be a meeting of our MLAs, who will voice their opinions. After that, the Congress high command will take an appropriate decision. As per the constitution, all elected MLAs are entitled to become CM.
Read | I take responsibility, says Raman Singh as Congress sweeps Chhattisgarh elections
How has Rahul Gandhi helped in winning these elections?
Rahul Gandhi has been a guiding force for us. He gave me the task of getting the party a majority in the state. He has kept Chhattisgarh under a collective leadership. He came to Chhattisgarh whenever we wanted and undertook multiple Padyatras for Jal (water), Jungle and Zameen (land) here. He also addressed rallies in every Lok Sabha seat.
Do you think this election will have a bearing upon the Lok Sabha elections?
Our victory in the assembly elections has proved that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are not invincible. Amit Shah will not be termed an election winning machine any more. This has proved that people now believe in the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. After the kinds of results we are seeing in Chhatttisgarh, Rajasthan and MP, perceptions about the Narendra Modi government will also change and this will become a tide against the BJP in the country.
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Why did the Amit Jogi & Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) factor not work in Chhattisgarh?
Ajit Jogi has been a burden for the Congress and because of him, we lost the last three elections in the state. When we decided to get rid of him, we were well aware of the fact that this will benefit us in a big way. People of Chhattisgarh know that he is not a tribal and that he falsely created an impression of being a big Scheduled Caste vote puller. It was a similar case with the BSP, whose vote share has been shrinking gradually. Their decision to come together was a game plan drawn up by Amit Shah and company. They thought that it will damage the Congress but in reality, it was just the opposite.
What will be the Congress’s priorities after forming the government in Chhattisgarh?
As promised, there will be loan waivers for the farmers within 10 days. Then, we will give ~ 2,500 as the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy. A ban will be imposed on outsourcing in government jobs. A new development policy for tribal people will be implemented soon. We will also address issues related to government employees.