Will step down when Sonia and Rahul Gandhi order: Chhattisgarh CM

Raipur: Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said on Wednesday he would step down as the state head when Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and senior party leader Rahul Gandhi ask him to do so.

Regarding speculations about leadership change in the state based on a two-and-a-half-year power-sharing formula, Baghel said such talks were made by those trying to bring political instability, but they would never succeed.

Baghel made the statements following a grand welcome that was accorded to him in Raipur upon his return from Delhi where he and state health minister held meetings with central leaders amid reports of a growing power tussle between the two.

Earlier in the day, it was reported, the duo was scheduled to meet Congress general secretary KC Venugopal in the national capital. They met Rahul Gandhi in the presence of Venugopal and Chhattisgarh in-charge PL Punia on Tuesday.

Later, Punia said there was no discussion about a change of guard during the meeting and wide-ranging discussions were held with Gandhi on the several schemes and projects being implemented in Chhattisgarh.

Tensions between Baghel and Singh Deo have simmered since the formation of the government in December 2018, but have never boiled over. Both leaders have taken the stance that all decisions about the government’s future will be taken by the party high command, and they will follow the instructions from Delhi.

However, speculation of a new arrangement has been rising since June 17, the day the CM completed two-and-a-half years of his term.

The rift within the ruling party had come to the fore when Deo walked out of the Assembly demanding clarity from his own government over allegations that one of his relatives was involved in an alleged attack on Congress legislator Brihaspat Singh.

Last week, Deo had sought action against a news portal that had cited him as the source for an article claiming Baghel would resign on August 17.