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Change of guard coming in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh as well? 'No disturbance there,' says Bhupesh Baghel
The appointment of a new chief minister in Punjab has triggered speculations of a possible change in the other two states as well. The Congress is in power in all the three states.
Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday asserted that “there is no disturbance” in Rajasthan, as a change of guard in Punjab has triggered speculations that a similar exercise could take place in the western state as well, with Ashok Gehlot making way for Sachin Pilot. Speculations are rife over a possible change in Chhattisgarh as well, with Baghel stepping down for state health minister TS Singh Deo.
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Baghel’s party, the Congress, is in power in all the three states.
“A person from the Scheduled Castes was made CM for the first time. I congratulate him and welcome the decision taken by the high command,” the Congress leader said on Charanjit Singh Channi, the successor to Captain Amarinder Singh in the northern state, and also its first Dalit chief minister.
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“However, there is no disturbance in Rajasthan,” he added, referring to the possibility of a new chief ministers being appointed there.
Baghel’s remarks came on a day when Deo arrived in Delhi, though the latter described it as a “personal” visit. “I have come here for my sister’s birthday. As you know, none of the party high command is here. Everything is normal in Chhattisgarh. All the issues that were there have been resolved,” he told media at the Delhi airport.
Meanwhile, in Rajasthan, resignation by Gehlot’s officer on special duty (OSD) for a tweet seen as criticism of the Congress top brass over its handling of the situation in Punjab, fuelled rumours that the veteran Congressman could be on his way out, with Pilot taking over.
In late 2018, the Grand Old Party defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. However, in March last year, the BJP returned to power in MP when Jyotiraditya Scindia, who lost to veteran Kamal Nath in the race to chief ministership, jumped ship, triggering the collapse of the Nath-led government.
