Who is TS Singhdeo, the new Chhattisgarh Deputy CM appointed after tussle with CM Baghel?

Since Baghel assumed the CM post after the 2018 state elections, there was a perception that Singhdeo, who belongs to the erstwhile royal family of Sarguja, was discontent over the elevation. The two leaders have also publicly disagreed on matters in the state since then.

With Legislative Assembly elections due in the state later this year, it is believed that the Congress leadership was eager to resolve tensions between the two. In December 2022, Singhdeo expressed a dilemma over contesting the 2023 polls.

A longstanding feature of Indian politics, the appointment of a Deputy Chief Minister represents a political compromise when multiple interests are to be balanced. In May this year, after the Karnataka state elections, Congress state party chief D K Shivakumar was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister and veteran leader Siddaramaiah became the CM.

Who is TS Singhdeo?

Tribhuvaneshwar Saran Singhdeo or TS Singhdeo represents the Ambikapur constituency in Chhattisgarh, which is part of the Sarguja district. Popularly known as ‘TS Baba’ or ‘Maharaj’, Singhdeo is unmarried and holds a Master’s degree in History.

He first became an MLA in 2008 and was re-elected in 2013. The next year, he became the Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly. It was reported that he was the party’s richest candidate in the state, with declared assets worth over Rs 560 crore.

CM post tussle after 2018 elections

During the 2018 Chhattisgarh elections, under the three-term CM Raman Singh, an incumbent BJP faced the Congress, which did not project any Chief Ministerial face during the polls. After the results, where the Congress won 68 of the 90 Legislative Assembly seats, there was a scramble within the party for deciding on the CM.

The party was facing similar issues of picking a CM in two other states where it won elections at that time, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Since then, its government in MP collapsed after the defections of MLAs to the BJP in 2020, while a public rebellion by prominent leader Rajesh Pilot broke out in Rajasthan in the same year and continues to affect political dynamics in the state. Chhattisgarh has proven to be the most resilient of the three cases, but not without its own hiccups.

The frontrunners for the CM post, back then, were state party chief Baghel, Leader of the Opposition Singhdeo, All India Congress Committee (AICC) Other Backward Classes (OBC) wing chief Tamradhwaj Sahu and former Union Minister Charan Das Mahant. Eventually, Baghel was selected for his role in reviving the party’s fortunes in the state, his effective criticism of the Raman Singh government and his stature as an OBC leader. He was also known to be close to the Gandhi family.

Sources, at the time, told The Indian Express that an arrangement between Baghel and Singhdeo had been discussed, where both are likely to see two-and-a-half years in the office each as chief minister. Baghel has since denied such a setup and has continued at the post. Singhdeo was given five portfolios: Panchayat and Rural Development, Health and Family Welfare, Medical Education, 20 Point-Program Implementation (relating to social sector schemes) and Commercial Tax (GST).

The Baghel-Deo rivalry in Chhattisgarh

A rift has been noticed from time to time in the two leaders’ public disagreements. In 2022, a coal mining project in the state’s Hasdeo Aranya forests (parts of which come under the Sarguja district) saw opposition from some local residents and activists over environmental concerns. Singhdeo visited the forests and declared that left to him, not a single tree would be cut for the project.

Rahul Gandhi also indicated he was open to hearing the protestors, around this time. Baghel, who had previously said activists looking to stop the project “should switch off their ACs first”, then changed his stand and put the project on hold. “If T S Singhdeo doesn’t want trees to be cut, not even a branch would be harmed,” the CM said.

In July 2022, Singhdeo relinquished the Panchayat and Rural Development departments and outlined the reasons for doing so in a public, four-page letter to Baghel. He cited the non-sanction of funds under the PM Awas Yojana, as a result of which, the minister said, houses could not be constructed for eight lakh people in the state. He added that he discussed the matter with Baghel several times, “but funds were not made available” and, as a result, “not even a single house could be constructed for the homeless”.

Singhdeo also pointed out that, contrary to the mandated rules of business, a committee of secretaries headed by the Chief Secretary was constituted to take final decisions on spending relating to his department on discretionary schemes, even after the recommendation of a minister. The letter further mentioned concerns over the implementation of the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) rules.

Last December, Singhdeo said he was not keen on contesting the state polls. “I have not taken a decision till now…this time I have not made up my mind yet on fighting the elections. Before this, in 2008, 2013 and 2018, I felt like fighting the elections and I had made up my mind. This time I do not feel like fighting the elections but I will make it official after discussing this with my supporters,” he said.

In response to the latest appointment, the Chhattisgarh BJP has attacked the Congress, saying Singhdeo has been placated with few days left for the elections. Raman Singh said, “For the first time in Chhattisgarh, the post of Deputy CM has been given to someone. This is not for the state’s benefit, just to placate people. More importantly, the central Congress leadership’s decision says that Bhupesh Baghel’s leadership has been set aside.”

Singh further brought up the allegations of corruption Baghel faces and asked whether Congress could now question the BJP over their issues of leadership, because its own pitch of Baghel leading the state for elections does not hold anymore.