Won’t join the BJP, next move depends on future: Singh Deo

He says his ideology and philosophy of life can never connect him with BJP

Senior Chhattisgarh Minister T.S. Singh Deo on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying such a move would be against his ideology and philosophy.

“I will never join the BJP. My personal ideology and the philosophy of life can never connect me with BJP... so I can never join BJP,” Mr. Singh Deo, a second-generation Congress leader from the Sarguja royal family whose association with the party dates back to 1983, told reporters in Rajnandgaon.

However, as has been the case on several past occasions when the Minister – who has often indicated his resentment over not getting the Chief Minister’s post that his supporters claim was promised to him when the party won in 2018 – kept speculations alive when asked about his future moves.

“What course my politics takes from here depends on the future,” he said, without elaborating further. 

‘New party costs a lot of money’

The Minister laughed off suggestions of launching a new party as “it costs a lot”. On December 29, Mr. Singh Deo had said his mind was not set on contesting elections, as in the past. This sparked a controversy with his Cabinet colleague and senior Congress leader Tamradhwaj Sahu saying that even if the former didn’t contest, it wouldn’t impact Congress’s prospects in the next Assembly election.