Weeks after dousing a fire in its Punjab unit, the Congress now appears to be faced with some rumblings in its Chhattisgarh unit. Chief Minister Bhupesh Bhagel is reported to be up against a challenge from senior party leader and state health minister TS Singh Deo.

Their differences, according to reports, stem from a purported arrangement for rotational chief ministership in Chhattisgarh. After the Congress came to power in 2018, Bhagel and Deo emerged as frontrunners for the chief minister’s post. Rahul Gandhi, after four days of consultations,  picked Baghel to lead the state. It was widely reported that a consensus had been reached for the top post to be shared on a two-and-a-half-year rotational  basis between Baghel and Deo. 

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Bhagel has often dismissed the talk of rotational CM and recently said that these were features of a coalition government. To this Deo had to say, “There are many instances when Congress CMs were changed before they completed their terms or continued for 10 or even 15 years. In Uttarakhand, we had more than one Congress CM last time (Vijay Bahuguna and Harish Rawat)…” according to ET.

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In another act of defiance, Deo recently walked out of the assembly, demanding that the government clear the air on a Congress MLA’s allegation against him. Chhattisgarh Congress MLA Brihaspat Singh, whose convoy was allegedly attacked in Surguja district, had accused Deo of staging the incident. Singh claimed that the reason behind the attack was that he had praised Baghel, which did not go down well with Deo.

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“I had given a statement earlier that Bhupesh Baghel is doing a good job and will remain in the post of chief minister for 20-25 years. This was not liked by T S Singh Deo and his family, who ordered the attack on me,” he alleged, according to reports.

The change buzz has grown stronger after the deadline for the so-called ‘rotational change’ lapsed in mid-June. Deo’s recent trip to Delhi further fuelled the speculation, though he said he was on a personal visit.

The Congress recently put out its Punjab fire by appointing Navjot Singh Sidhu as the state Congress chief, despite Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s opposition. Though the two leaders seemed to have patched up for now, all eyes are on the state to see how the relations between the two leaders pan out ahead of the next year’s Assembly election.

Before Punjab, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot faced a serious challenge in the form of deputy CM Sachin Pilot. But, Gehlot stayed put and managed to keep his flock together and survived the challenge.