Singhdeo: If Congress returns, Baghel will be 'first in line' for Chhattisgarh CM post

The Congress will fight the Chhattisgarh Assembly polls under a “collective leadership” helmed by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who will be the “first in line” to be reconsidered for the post if the party wins, Deputy Chief Minister TS Singhdeo has told news agency PTI.

In the interview to PTI published on Sunday (July 23), Singhdeo said if an incumbent chief minister has not been removed, it means the party believes s/he will be able to lead the team to victory. Singhdeo remarked that after a win, “why should the captain be changed?”.

He also predicted that the Congress is likely to bag another resounding mandate in the 90-member Assembly, saying some are projecting 75-plus seats for his party but his estimate is between 60 and 75-plus. The Congress won 68 seats in the 2018 Assembly polls.

“No bitterness, no betrayal”

Asked if tensions between Baghel and him were a thing of the past, Singhdeo said, “There was no real bitterness or enmity. We (Baghel and him) were working together. There was this issue of time sharing — two and a half years; I think that was weighing on our minds, as well as on the minds of everybody associated with the two of us. That time has gone by. Even when those matters were in discussion, we were still performing to the best of our ability.”

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On whether he felt a sense of betrayal for not getting two and a half years as the chief minister as promised, he said, “I don’t see it as a betrayal. I see it as a decision the high command takes; it is their call. I cannot become the chief minister; it is the high command, on the feedback it has, that gives designated roles to all of us,” said Singhdeo who was made the deputy chief minister last month.

“There is no betrayal, as it is the call the high command has to take, and we abide by it,” he added.

“Grateful to party”

Asked whether the deputy CM’s position was a climbdown from an earlier position or a progression, Singhdeo said he was, on protocol, already the number two in the Cabinet.

“We have these official protocols. So, the CM had given me the protocol after him. He was number one, I was number two, and Tamradhwaj Sahu ji was number three, etc. There were 13 of us, including the chief minister. I am still number two with an added designation. I am the Deputy CM; so, I am sure a lot of people would see it as a step up,” he said.

“I was one of the ministers in the Cabinet. Now I am one of the ministers who is also designated as Deputy CM. I am grateful to the party, very grateful to the party high command, and Bhupesh bhai because, with the consent and blessings of all, it would have happened,” he told PTI over phone.

“Many discussions behind closed doors”

On whether all the issues were a thing of the past and the party were united in Chhattisgarh, Singhdeo claimed the leaders were united earlier as well.

“The issue (two and a half years of CM tenure) was coming up repeatedly in the press; so, there was definitely that strain. It was difficult for Bhupesh bhai to reply all the time. It was very difficult for me to keep trying to reply to either the media or our associates (as to) when it was going to happen, what was going to happen, whether there was this two-and-a-half-year thing… So, it did weigh on us, certainly,” the Congress leader said.

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Now, there are no two and a half years; only four-five months are left for the elections, he noted, adding that the situation that existed earlier did not exist anymore.

On whether he was actually promised two and a half years in the CM’s post, Singhdeo said many discussions take place behind closed doors.

“The high command never said anything about this two and a half years (tenure); so, I am in no position to make any comment. One has to maintain the dignity of discussions that take place behind closed doors,” Singhdeo said.

“Collective leadership”

Asked whether the polls would be fought under a “collective leadership”, Singhdeo said the decision taken on June 28, when the leaders from the state met the party brass in Delhi, was that the polls will be “fought on a collective leadership which Bhupesh Baghel ji would lead”.

“That is the situation and obviously if we win under the situation, he (Baghel) would be the first in line to be considered for the chief minister’s post,” Singhdeo said.

Pressed further on his remark that Baghel will be first in line to be CM, he said, “Certainly. If you are the incumbent chief minister, for one, you have not been removed. So, the party maintains its belief in your being able to lead the team to victory and, after you win, why should the captain be changed?”

Asked whether he would also continue in the Deputy CM’s post if the Congress wins, Singhdeo said that was for the high command to decide. “Whatever responsibility they designate, we will accept them and we should accept them with full grace,” he said.

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“7 out of 10”

He asserted that the government has performed well on many parameters. There may be some shortcomings in terms of perceived promises, which may not have been fulfilled, but by and large the government has done quite well, he said. “I would give a seven out of 10 rating and very good chances of coming back to governance again,” Singhdeo said.

Asked about the anti-incumbency factor, the Congress leader said anti-incumbency would work had there been a lack of performance. “Where there is performance, the sense of anti-incumbency is not there. There has been performance on the front of the farmers, the forest dwellers, education, English-medium schools, electricity concession, and many initiatives in the urban areas too. In health, we have done quite well,” he said.

Asked if he would fight the polls from Ambikapur again, Singhdeo said if the constituents of his seat want him to contest, it would be his priority, and he would seek their views on that. “I am in the process of doing that. Then, the party has to accept me as the candidate,” he said.

So, with the captain and vice-captain decided, is the team set to win the finals? Singhdeo said it is not just about the captain and vice-captain, it is about the entire team. “We have all the other senior players, all the other party workers, we have to do it together, like we did it last time. The more we do it together, the more success there will be,” he said.

Singhdeo and Baghel had been engaged in a power tussle since the party came to power in the state in 2018. There was talk throughout the tenure that party leadership had promised that he and Baghel would hold the chief minister’s post alternately for two and a half years each. However, the party leadership never publicly said anything on this.

(With agency inputs)