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Journalism of Courage
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.
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‘Soft face’ has finger on the pulse
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ASHWANI SHARMA Story continues below this ad His colleagues in the party say he is too gentle to match shrewd politicians like Ajit Jogi. But his loyalists say Raman Singh, the BJP’s soft face for the chief ministerial post, knows the pulse of the masses. Though he holds no caste card, belonging to an upper-caste Rajput family, Singh has been successful in ensuring his acceptability in the party, handling much of the factionalism in the last one year. A former Union minister, Singh is currently a Lok Sabha member from Rajnandgaon. Before getting into politics, Singh — fondly known as Dr Sahib in the party — was a practising ayurveda hakim at Kawardha. ‘‘Ek bar kisi ki nabaz pakar lete the to saari bimarion ka ilaaj bata dete the (He diagnosed all ailments perfectly by reading the pulse),’’ said a supporter. He contested his first municipal body election in Kawardha in 1983. He fought his first Assembly election in 1990. After his stint as a member of the MP Assembly, Singh was tipped for the Lok Sabha election in 1999 and got elected, defeating Congress stalwart Motilal Vohra by 26,715 votes. Singh was inducted into the Vajpayee ministry in 1999 as the MoS for Commerce till he was sent to Chhattisgarh to reorganise the BJP for the Assembly polls. |
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