Congress seeks to mollify Singh Deo with deputy CM post, gets poll-ready in Chhattisgarh

The Congress's move to appoint Chhattisgarh minister T S Singh Deo, locked in a turf war with Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel for months, as deputy CM appears to be an attempt to stem infighting in the state unit and prepare it for the year-end Assembly polls.

Baghel, who faces a formidable challenge from the Opposition BJP in the crucial Assembly elections, hailed Singh Deo's appointment on Wednesday, seeking to put up a united face.

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What works in Singh Deo's favour is that he is a prominent leader and has a considerable following in the northern part of the state (Surguja). The sitting MLA from Ambikapur also enjoys the confidence of party high command in New Delhi.

A party statement released in the national capital on Wednesday night said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the proposal for the appointment of Singh Deo (70) as the deputy chief minister in Chhattisgarh.

The decision came after top Congress leaders from Chhattisgarh discussed the party's strategy and poll preparedness in the state during the meeting held in New Delhi earlier in the day.

Kharge, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, Chhattisgarh CM Baghel, party in-charge for the state Kumari Selja and general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal were among the leaders who attended the meeting at the party headquarters in New Delhi.

After the appointment of Singh Deo, who hails from a royal family, Baghel wrote on Twitter, “Congratulations and best wishes to Maharaj Sahab for getting responsibility as Deputy Chief Minister."

Former CM and senior BJP leader Raman Singh took a dig and tweeted a rhyme, “Dubne lagi kashti to kaptan ne yu kuchh kiya, saup di hai patwar aadhi dusre ke hath me (when the boat started sinking, the captain did something like this, half of the helm has been handed over to someone else). Congratulations to Maharaj ji for the remaining 4 months."

According to political experts, the decision reflects Congress high command's attempt to keep its house in order ahead of the Assembly elections, where it will seek to retain power.

“The decision seems to be the party's move to resolve differences within the ruling Congress in the state. However, it should have been taken much ahead of the Assembly polls. Such a decision at this point of time could boomerang on the party,” senior journalist and political analyst R Krishna Das told PTI.

The alleged differences between Baghel and his cabinet colleague Singh Deo spilled out in open in mid-2021 when speculation was rife that the latter will take over as CM for the remaining term as per a purported power-sharing pact agreed after the 2018 Assembly election results.

The CM post sharing formula had been a buzz in Chhattisgarh's political circles after the Congress came to power in December 2018 following a gap of 15 years. Baghel and his two senior cabinet colleagues -- Singh Deo and Tamradhwaj Sahu -- were then leading contenders for the top post.

The power tussle between Singh Deo and Baghel took a new turn last year when the former gave up the panchayat and rural development department, hinting he was sidelined in the government though he continued to hold four other portfolios.

A scion of the erstwhile Sarguja royal family, Singh Deo is currently holding Health and Family Welfare, Medical Education, Twenty Point Implementation and Commercial Tax (GST) portfolios.

A three-time MLA, Singh Deo was elevated to the position of the Congress Legislature Party leader after the party lost the 2013 Assembly polls. Since then, Singh Deo made efforts to bring the party to power in 2018 in the state, considered as one of the bastions of the BJP.

He was born on October 31, 1952, in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad). His father late MS Singh Deo, an IAS officer, retired as chief secretary of the united Madhya Pradesh. His mother Devendra Kumari had been a minister in the Madhya Pradesh government.

TS Singh Deo studied at Scindia School, Gwalior, and later graduated in history from the prestigious Hindu College, New Delhi. Thereafter, he did his post-graduation from Hamidia College, Bhopal.

His political career started with the Municipal Council of Ambikapur of which he has twice been the chairman during 1983-88 and 1995-99.

Singh Deo was elected as an MLA for the first time in 2008 from the Surguja constituency, which was earlier reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates and became a general seat (and came to be known as Ambikapur) after the delimitation in 2008. He retained the seat in 2013.

The Congress leader was given crucial charge of drafting the party's manifesto for the 2018 Assembly polls. He travelled across the state and consulted every section of society before preparing the pre-poll document.

The promises made by the Congress in its manifesto, particularly for farmers, were credited for the party's resounding victory in 2018.

Among people and political opponents, Singh Deo is seen as a soft-spoken, grounded and humble person.