“Don’t feel like running for office; will talk with supporters” Chhattisgarh minister T S Singh Deo
Senior Chhattisgarh Congress politician T S Singh Deo stated on Thursday that he does not wish to run in the forthcoming Assembly elections but that he will make a decision after consulting with his supporters.
“I have not yet made a decision…
I have not yet decided whether or not to run for office this time. Prior to this, in 2008, 2013, and 2018, I wanted to run for office and had made up my mind. The state health and family welfare minister and three-time MLA from the Ambikapur constituency in the Surguja district told the media, “This time, I do not feel like contesting the polls, but I will make my decision official after consulting with my followers.”
Deo has been embroiled in a power struggle with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel since Congress defeated the BJP in 2018 and formed the government. A candidate for CM, Deo was pushed aside by Baghel, and a rotating plan to make him CM after two and a half years never materialised.
In January of this year, Deo resigned from the critical Panchayat and Rural Development posts, a move that is expected to destabilise the state Congress unit further. A portion of the leaders have repeatedly asserted that after the Congress took power in the state in December 2018, Gandhi informed Baghel and Deo that the position would be shared, with Baghel holding the position for the first two and a half years. Baghel, though, has rejected any such deal on multiple occasions.
