Having swept the Assembly elections, the BJP is all set to take over the reins of the government in Chhattisgarh. Raman Singh, the party’s Legislature Party leader, today formally staked claim to form the government. Governor Lt Gen (retd) K.M. Seth late this evening invited Singh to form the government which is set to be sworn in on December 7. Preparations for the swearing-in ceremony, scheduled to be held at the Police Lines ground in Raipur, have already started. Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani is expected to attend the function where Singh is expected to take oath along with 14 others. Earlier in the day, at a meeting of the newly elected MLAs, Singh emerged as the consensus candidate for the CM’s post. Among those present at the meeting were BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu and Union Minister Rajnath Singh. ‘‘Raman Singh’s name was proposed by Nanki Ram Kanwar and endorsed by Brij Mohan Aggarwal. He emerged as the consensus candidate for the post,’’ said Rajnath Singh. While the meeting was on, VHP activists shouted pro-Judeo slogans outside the venue. But former Union minister Dilip Singh Judeo, who was especially flown to Raipur from Jashpur today, told mediapersons before the meeting that he was not a candidate for the CM’s post. ‘‘I am happy. While my moustache is safe, Jogi’s chair has gone,’’ he said. Meanwhile, the BJP has not ruled out the possibility of appointing a deputy chief minister in order to give suitable representation to the tribal community. Two names under consideration for the post are Nand Kumar Sai, who was Leader of Opposition in the outgoing Assembly and who was pitted against Jogi in Marwahi, and Nanki Ram Kanwar, a senior BJP leader from Korba district. ‘Soft face’ has finger on the pulse
