The suspense over the name of the new chief minister of Chhattisgarh ended on Sunday afternoon with senior tribal leader Vishnu Deo Sai elected for the post. The BJP legislative party inclusive of 54 newly elected MLAs chose Sai as its leader unanimously in a meeting held at Raipur to make him the sixth chief minister of the state.
Sources said that Sai's name as legislative party leader was proposed by ex-CM Raman Singh and seconded by state BJP chief Arun Sao. Both Singh and Sao had been among the frontrunners of the CM post in the state.
Sai, 59, could be considered the first tribal chief minister of the tribal-dominated state, as Ajit Jogi, then of Congress, had assumed CM chair as a tribal leader in 2000 when the state was formed, but lost his tribal status in 2019 following a long-drawn administrative and legal proceedings and his caste certificate was cancelled.
Speaking to media persons after his election, Sai expressed gratitude to the party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda for ‘reposing faith in him and making a small party worker the chief minister of the state’.
“I will sincerely work as the CM to fulfill Modi’s guarantees 100 per cent,” Sai told the reporters.
He said that among the first priorities of the new government will be to transfer the pending paddy bonus of Rs 4200 crores to the accounts of farmers for the two years duration from the tenure of earlier Raman Singh-led BJP government.
He also expressed gratitude to the state BJP in-charge Om Mathur, co-in-charges Mansukh Mandaviya and Nitin Nabin as well as the MLAs for electing him.
State BJP chief Arun Sao told media persons that Sai will go to the governor’s house on Sunday itself to stake claim to form the government in the state. He said that under the leadership of Sai, the state will move towards prosperity and happiness.
Immediately afterwards, former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel posted a congratulatory message on social media platform X.
“Congratulations and best wishes to Kunkuri MLA and senior BJP leader Vishnu Dev Sai ji on being elected as the leader of the BJP Legislative Party. I wish that you take forward the journey of justice and progress of Chhattisgarh as the Chief Minister,” he said.
Gentleman, experienced leader
Vishnu Deo Sai, who was elected MLA from Kunkuri constituency in Surguja division, is known as a non-controversial gentleman leader who is on good terms with everyone in the state. He is said to be close to RSS and former chief minister Raman Singh.
During a campaign meeting in his constituency, home minister Amit Shah had urged people to elect Sai as MLA and then he (Shah) will ‘make him a big man’.
A former union minister in the first term of the Narendra Modi government, Sai has been a four-time member of parliament and this is his third term as MLA. Twice earlier, he was a member of the Madhya Pradesh legislative assembly, when Chhattisgarh was yet to be separated.
Sai was also the president of state BJP from June 2020 to August 2022, but ceded office to OBC leader Arun Sao ahead of the assembly polls.
Deputy CM likely?
Even as the suspense on CM name ended, speculations continued whether Chhattisgarh will have a deputy chief minister again. Names of Arun Sao, bureaucrat turned MLA O.P. Chaudhary and even women leaders like Lata Usendi, Gomti Sai and Renuka Singh were in circulation for the post. Sai told media persons that all other decisions regarding government formation will soon come to the fore.