New Delhi : With his appointment as the AICC senior observer for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Bhupesh Baghel appears to be secure in the post of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister at least for a while now amid the tussle in the state Congress unit.
A team of Chhattisgarh Congress and Baghel are also working for the last few months in the state. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is in charge of the Uttar Pradesh Congress. The responsibility of a big state to Baghel indicates that his chief ministerial position is secured at least for now, sources said.
Speculations about the change of Chief Minister in Chhattisgarh have been doing the rounds for the past few weeks. Due to these speculations, many of the state MLAs are stationed in Delhi. Earlier, Baghel was tasked with the responsibility of the Assam Assembly elections. He along with his team worked campaigned tirelessly in the state. However, Congress lost the elections but his efforts were recognised by the top leadership, sources said.
Apart from the management, Baghel's caste is also being linked to his appointment as the senior observer for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. He belongs to the OBC Kurmi community, whose voters are in large numbers in eastern UP. After Priyanka Gandhi became the General Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Congress in 2019, there has been a strength and renewed vigour in the organisation, but despite this, Congress remains the number four party in the state.
The main contest is believed to be between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Samajwadi Party. Uttar Pradesh Congress leaders were trained in Chhattisgarh to know about the 'Chhattisgarh model of poll management'. According to sources, workers of Chhattisgarh Congress are already active in many Assembly segments and control rooms have also been set up in 78 constituencies.