In anticipation of a crucial meeting among the newly elected MLAs in Chhattisgarh to elect their legislative party leader, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Raman Singh hinted on Sunday that the state government might have a deputy chief minister.
Following the selection of Vishnu Deo Sai, a prominent tribal leader, as the chief minister, local political circles began speculating that the BJP could appoint two deputies in the state.
Sai emerged as the leader of the BJP's legislative party during a meeting of the 54 newly elected MLAs at Kushabhau Thakre Parisar, the party's state headquarters. While Singh had hinted at the appointment of a deputy CM ahead of the meeting, no official announcement was made during the legislative party gathering. Nonetheless, speculation persisted in local political circles that two deputy CMs might be appointed in the new BJP government.
With the Chhattisgarh cabinet having a stipulated strength of 13 members, including the CM, in the 90-member assembly, names such as state unit chief Arun Sao, IAS-turned-politician OP Chaudhary, both from Other Backward Classes, and Vijay Sharma, an MLA from the general category, were being discussed. The OBCs constitute around 45 per cent of the state's population.
Sao, hailing from the influential Sahu (Teli) community, which holds a significant presence in Durg, Raipur, and Bilaspur divisions, and Sharma, a Brahmin who defeated influential Congress leader and minister Mohammad Akbar in Kawardha seat, expressed that the decision regarding the deputy CM would be made by the CM and the party leadership.
The BJP secured 54 seats in the 90-member Assembly during the recent polls, leading to the ousting of the Congress government led by Bhupesh Baghel, which ended with 35 seats, a significant drop from the 68 seats it won in 2018.
