Baghel, Deo Meet Rahul Gandhi, But No Discussion Held on Leadership Change

There have been reports of differences between CM Baghel & Deo, with the latter lobbying hard to replace the former.

Rift in Chhattisgarh Congress? CM Baghel, Minister Singh Deo Meet Rahul Gandhi

(Photo Courtesy: PTI/Facebook/Altered by The Quint)

Amid reports of infighting in Chhattisgarh Congress, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and state Health Minister TS Singh Deo on Tuesday, 24 August, met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi, but no discussion on leadership was reportedly held.

Punia also attended the meeting along with the chief minister and the health minister.

Visuals shared by news agency ANI showed both Baghel and Deo reaching the residence of Gandhi on Tuesday.

Post the meeting, Punia said that there was no discussion of change in leadership for the post of chief minister in Chhattisgarh, according to news agency ANI.

According to news agency IANS, there have been several reports of differences between Baghel and Deo, with the latter lobbying hard for months to replace the former.

Rotational Chief Ministership Cited

Deo has reportedly cited a deal for rotational chief ministership that was purportedly reached upon after the party won the Assembly elections in late 2018.

The purported row started after the Congress completed half of its five-year term in June.

Sources cited by NDTV have said that Deo will quit the government and possibly the party too if he's not given the top post.

After the Assembly elections, among the leading contenders for the post of CM were Baghel, Deo, Charan Das Mahant and Tamradhwaj Sahu, with Baghel being chosen for the post after several rounds of meetings with the Congress leadership.

Congress Troubles in Other States

The trouble in the Chhattisgarh Congress comes soon after the crisis in the Punjab unit of the party, marked by the feud between CM Captain Amarinder Singh and newly-appointed state party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.

The Congress has seen infighting in other states in the recent past too – in Madhya Pradesh, where Jyotiraditya Scindia's exit saw the collapse of the Kamal Nath-led government; and in Rajasthan, where the Ashok Gehlot-Sachin Pilot feud led the party to the brink of collapse.

(With inputs from IANS, NDTV and ANI)