๐ซBhupesh Baghel, who was getting ready to continue as the chief minister of Chhattisgarh after exit polls predicted a Congress victory, suffered a setback as the BJP wrested the state from the hands of the grand old party.
๐คกThe Congress leader, who resigned as the chief minister Sunday night after the poll results were declared, emerged victorious in the Patan assembly seat, defeating BJP candidate Vijay Baghel by 19,723 votes in the state assembly elections held last month.
๊ฆซBaghel, who became the CM in 2018, has emerged as one of the most formidable state-level leaders of the Congress in the last five years.
๐With his welfare schemes, invocation of regional pride and astute political skills which helped him overcome challenges from within the party, he became the face of the Congress ahead of the 2023 assembly polls.
๐People fondly call him `kakaโ (uncle), and โkaka abhi zinda haiโ (kaka is still alive) has been Baghelโs favourite punchline during public speeches.
๐After the Congress lost assembly elections in Chhattisgarh for the third time in a row in 2013, Baghel was made its state unit chief.
๊ฆThe party had suffered a devastating blow a few months earlier when several of its state leaders were killed in the Jhiram valley Naxal attack of May 2013.
๐ทAlong with then leader of opposition in the assembly T S Singh Deo, Baghel rebuilt the party in Chhattisgarh.
๐ฐWhen the Congress swept to power in 2018, Baghel emerged as winner in the race for the chief ministerโs post, leaving behind rivals like Singh Deo, Charan Das Mahant and Tamradhwaj Sahu.
๊งIn 2023, though the Congress did not declare any chief ministerial candidate, its campaign revolved around him.
๐After becoming the chief minister five years ago, Baghel cultivated his image as a โson of the soilโ.
๐The schemes rolled out by his government for farmers, tribal communities and the poor played a major role in increasing his popularity.
เนBaghel was also one of the first leaders from the state to tap the sentiment of regional pride, talking about `Chhattisgarhiyawaadโ and promoting regional festivals, sports, arts and culture.
๐งWhen his father Nand Kumar Baghel allegedly made derogatory remarks about a so-called upper caste community, Bhupesh Baghel promptly had him arrested and said nobody was above law under this government.
๊ฆซDuring the campaign, Congress leaders tried to encash Baghelโs popularity. Unlike other regional Congress leaders, Baghel did not shy away from criticising Prime Miniter Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
๐The BJP, for its part, targeted him over corruption and alleged that Chhattisgarh had become an โATMโ (source of funds) for the Congress.
๐Just before the elections, he was targeted over the alleged Mahadev betting app scandal, but he fought back claiming that the central probe agencies were being misused by the BJP for harassing its rivals.
๊ฆฐBaghel was born into a Kurmi farmer family in Durg district on August 23, 1961. The Kurmis, an influential OBC community, account for around 14 per cent of the stateโs population of around 2.5 crore.
๐He entered politics in the 1980s and was first elected to the assembly of the then undivided Madhya Pradesh from Patan in 1993. He won the seat in 1998 and 2003 too.
๐In the 2008 assembly elections, he was defeated by BJPโs Vijay Baghel. He also lost to BJPโs Ramesh Bais from Raipur Lok Sabha seat in 2009.
๐ผBut he reclaimed the Patan assembly seat in 2013 and won from there again in 2018.
เฑ After the formation of Chhattisgarh state in 2000, he served as revenue minister in the Ajit Jogi government (2000-2003).
๐ฐBaghelโs leadership faced a serious challenge in 2021 when the followers of his cabinet colleague T S Singh Deo claimed that the party had agreed to make Singh Deo chief minister after two-and-half years.
โBut Baghel easily established that most of the MLAs were with him.
๐ฌA small concession was made to Singh Deo when he was made deputy chief minister in June 2023, months before the polls. He claimed that he had never talked about any agreement about sharing the CMโs post.
-With PTI Input
