Raman Singh, OBC Face Or Woman Tribal Minister? Who Will Be Chhattisgarh's Next CM?

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pulled up a surprise in Chhattisgarh by securing victory in 54 seats. The saffron party is inching closer to trouncing the ruling Congress in the state. As per the latest trends, the BJP is racing ahead to the majority mark.

The saffron party is ahead in 54 seats, while the Congress is leading in 34 constituencies. Meanwhile, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is leading in two seats. Notably, the BJP has not yet announced its CM face in the state.

The choice would not be easy for the party, which brought Raman Singh back to the state only towards the end after it could not find a face to match his name recall.

Chhattisgarh's longest-serving CM, who enjoys the confidence of both Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, may get another shot at the top job. 71-year-old Raman Singh is currently national vice president of BJP and has been a member of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly since 2004. He was a Minister of State in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1999. Raman Singh ruled the state from 2003 to 2018.

Renuka Singh

The Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs is the ideal choice if the party wishes to appoint the state’s first woman tribal CM.

The 59-year-old was a member of the social welfare board in Chhattisgarh before becoming a two-time MLA from Premnagar in Surguja division. She lost in 2013 but won the Lok Sabha election from Surguja by 1.57 lakh votes in 2019. That victory came a year after the Congress swept all 14 Assembly seats in the division. Fielded from Bharatpur-Sonhat in Surguja division, she led the Congress’s Gulab Kamor by 5,433 votes after 13 rounds of counting.

Arun Sao

If the BJP considers an OBC face, the first priority will likely be the state unit president Arun Sao. He represented the Bilaspur Lok Sabha constituency in three consecutive terms and has strong influence among the OBC communities.

OP Choudhary, the former IAS officer turned BJP leader, is a strong contender for the Deputy Chief Minister post.

A former MLA from Patan, Vijay Baghel is the nephew of outgoing CM Bhupesh Singh Baghel. He joined the BJP in 2008 and is seen as a rebel leader, who challenged his uncle's power in state politics.