BJP chosen senior tribal leader Vishnu Deo Sai as Chhattisghar Chief Minister. The BJP legislative party inclusive of 54 newly elected MLAs chose Sai as its leader unanimously in a meeting held at Raipur on Sunday to make him the sixth chief minister of the state.
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.
Immediately afterwards, former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel posted a congratulatory message on social media platform X.
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.
