Congress appoints MP Deepak Baij as its Chhattisgarh unit chief ahead of Assembly polls

A former two-time MLA from Bastar, Baij was among two Congress candidates out of 11 who won from the state in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. He is at present a member of the consultative committee, Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

Congress MP Deepak Baij. (Photo:prsindia.org/)

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With Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh less than six months away, Mohan Markan, a leader from the tribal community, was replaced as Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief by Deepak Baij, 41, another tribal leader and a Lok Sabha MP from Bastar. The order was issued Wednesday night.

A former two-time MLA from Bastar, Baij was among two Congress candidates out of 11 who won from the state in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. He is at present a member of the consultative committee, Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

After being elected MP, Baij worked as a member of the Standing Committee on External Affairs until 2020. He was then made a member of the Standing Committee on Chemical & Fertilizers.

Wednesday’s development comes amid murmurs in the state Congress about purported differences between Markam and Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel — a section of leaders believe this could have created problems in future while shortlisting names of MLA candidates for the 90 Assembly seats. The shortlisted names are sent to the party’s central committee in Delhi, which then finalises 90 names.

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