If Congress wins in Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel will be 'first in line' for CM post: T.S. Singhdeo

Mr. Singhdeo was appointed deputy chief minister last month. He and Chief Minister Baghel had been engaged in a power tussle since the party came to power in the state in 2018.

Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister T.S. Singhdeo on Sunday said the Congress would fight the assembly polls under a "collective leadership" helmed by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and if the party wins, Mr. Baghel would be "first in line" to be considered for the CM's post.

In an interview with PTI, Mr. Singhdeo said if an incumbent chief minister has not been removed, it means the party maintains its belief in that person being able to lead the team to victory and after the win "why should the captain be changed".

Also read: News Analysis | T.S. Singh Deo’s elevation a message to Bhupesh Baghel to take everyone along

He also predicted the Congress was likely to bag another resounding mandate in the 90-member assembly, saying some are projecting 75-plus seats for his party but his estimate is anywhere between 60 to 75-plus. The Congress had won 68 seats in the 2018 assembly polls.

Asked if tensions between Mr. Baghel and him are a thing of the past after he was made the deputy chief minister last month, Mr. Singhdeo said, "There was no real bitterness or enmity, we (Mr. Baghel and him) 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." On whether he felt a sense of betrayal for not getting two-and-a-half years as the chief minister, he said, "I don't see it as a betrayal. I see it as a decision which the high command takes, it is their call. I cannot become the chief minister, it is the high command, on the feedback it has, that gives designated roles to all of us." "There is no betrayal as it is the call which the high command has to take and we abide by it," Mr. Singhdeo added.

Asked whether he being made the deputy CM was a climb down from an earlier position or a progression, Mr. Singhdeo said he was, on protocol, already the number two in the cabinet.

"We have these official protocols. So the CM had given me the protocol after him. He was number one and I was number 2 and Tamradhwaj Sahu ji was number 3 etc. There were 13 of us including the chief minister. I am still number 2 with an added designation. I am the Deputy CM, so I am sure a lot of people would be seeing it as a step up," he said.