New Delhi: Ahead of Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday said the biggest challenge for the Congress in the state is to fight the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department rather than the opposition BJP, news agency PTI reported.
In an interview to the news agency, CM Baghel said there is no anti-incumbency factor in the poll-bound state and the only uphill task of the ruling party is to fight the ED and I-T, which are creating a “fear psychosis” ahead of the elections.
Referring to some of the recent raids against some of his close aides, CM Baghel said, “The ED and the I-T Department are powerful wings of the BJP and they are trying to create a fear psychosis ahead of the Chhattisgarh assembly elections, but they would not succeed in their endeavours.”
"There is no challenge to the Congress party posed by the BJP in Chhattisgarh, but our biggest challenge is fighting the ED and the I-T Department which are acting in an undemocratic manner in the state ahead of assembly polls," he added.
Speaking about the candidates that the grand old party plans to field, CM Baghel said the Congress has been carrying out extensive surveys to evaluate the work done by the MLAs and added that some of them may not be renominated in the upcoming elections.
Party office-bearers will be consulted before deciding on the candidates and winnability will be the only factor behind candidate selection, he said.
With the saffron party having announced its first list of 21 candidates, CM Baghel said his party will assess which leaders would be best suited to take on them.
"It is possible that in some seats, where our candidates are weak, we could change our sitting candidates. They could be given other responsibilities. That is the party's policy," CM Baghel told PTI.
"We will see who is the better candidate.... It is possible that some candidates would be changed, there are 71 sitting MLAs (of Congress), it is natural that some of them are weak," he added.
Asked about the reports on leadership issue and the Congress’s chief ministerial candidate, Baghel said, "Deciding the chief minister is the prerogative of the Congress high command and everyone will abide by its decision."
He, however, dismissed the reports of a conflict in the Chhattisgarh unit of the Congress.
"I have perfect relations with (deputy chief minister) T S Singh Deo and others. We had good ties earlier and even now," he told the news agency.
Notably, the elections to the 90-member assembly in Chhattisgarh are scheduled to be held later this year.