'Why Should Captain Be Changed': TS Singh Deo Says Baghel Will Be 'First In Line' For Chhattisgarh CM Post

Singh Deo said in a party meeting on June 28, it was decided that the Chhattisgarh elections would be fought under the “collective leadership” of CM Bhupesh Baghel,

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel with Deputy CM T.S. Singh Deo.

Source : PTI

New Delhi: Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister TS Singh Deo said the Congress will fight the state elections under a “collective leadership” of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and if the party wins, Baghel will be the “first in line” for the top post, news agency PTI reported. In an interview with PTI, Singhdeo predicted a landslide victory for the party and said if an incumbent chief minister has not been removed, it means the party maintains belief in that person, and after poll victory, "why should the captain be changed".

Speaking about the “tensions” between CM Baghel and him, Singh Deo said, “There was no real bitterness or enmity, we 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.”

“I was one of the ministers in the cabinet. Now I am one of the ministers who is also the Deputy Chief Minister. I am grateful to the party, very grateful to the party high command and Bhupesh bhai because it happened with the consent and blessings of all,” he added.

Singh Deo said in a party meeting on June 28, it was decided that the assembly elections would be fought under the “collective leadership” of CM Baghel and he “would be first in line to be considered for the chief minister” if the party wins.

Ruling out the anti-incumbency factor, Singh Deo said the party has performed well on most parameters.

"Where there is performance then 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, many initiatives in the urban areas too. In health, too, we have done quite well,” the deputy chief minister told PTI.