Will CG get its 1st woman CM? Buzz grows as suspense lingers

RAIPUR: As the wait continues for the next chief minister of Chhattisgarh after the stunning BJP victory, there is intense speculation in political circles that the state may get its first woman chief minister this time.

The names being discussed as frontrunners for the CM post include senior tribal leader Vishnu Deo Sai, a former state party chief and former Union minister, state BJP president Arun Sao, Gomati Sai and Union minister Renuka Singh Sarota. Of course, three-term CM Raman Singh is a strong contender. Arun Sao, Renuka Singh and Gomati Sai were Lok Sabha MPs when they were fielded in the assembly election. Sao and Gomati resigned from the Parliament on Wednesday, along with 10 other BJP MPs who won the assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Renuka Singh and Rajasthan's Baba Balaknath haven't resigned.

With the BJP central leadership holding its cards close to its chest on the CM face, the suspense is growing over who among the five will be picked for the top berth. The BJP leadership is known to spring surprises.

For the last two days, there has been intense speculation about the BJP considering the names of Renuka Singh or Gomati Sai for the CM chair, particularly in light of the BJP sweeping all 14 tribal seats in Surguja region in North Chhattisgarh, and winning eight of 12 seats in the tribal belt of Bastar.

Renuka, 59, a Union minister of state, is the Lok Sabha MP from Surguja constituency. A former minister in the Raman Singh government, she contested the assembly elections from Bharatpur-Sonhat (ST) segment and won by an impressive margin. Gomati Sai was the Raigarh MP when she contested the Pathalgaon (ST) assembly seat and was elected to the Vidhan Sabha.

I n the event of the BJP not opting for women leadership, state BJP president Arun Sao, 55, who led the party in the elections, stands a fair chance for the top post because his OBC Sahu community overwhelmingly supported the BJP in the assembly polls. The BJP recorded impressive victories in several constituencies in the central region where the OBC Sahu community holds sway.

Sao, a former deputy advocate general, was elected to the Lok Sabha from Bilaspur constituency in 2019. BJP had appointed him the state party chief in August 2022, around 18 months a year ahead of the assembly elections. He replaced former Union minister Vishnu Deo Sai — a move that was seen as an attempt by the party to counter chief minister Bhupesh Baghel’s aggressive OBC politics that mainly revolved around an OBC subcaste.

Another contender is former state BJP president and former Union minister Vishnu Deo Sai, a veteran tribal leader, who was a minister in the first Modi ministry. The 59-year-old tribal leader has made it to the assembly from Kunkuri (ST) assembly constituency, which is in Surguja region. TNN