RAIPUR: In a development with political ramifications in Chhattisgarh, Dhal Das, the eldest son of Satnami community leader Guru Baldas Saheb and elder brother of BJP minister Guru Khushwant Saheb, joined the Opposition Congress.
Former CM Bhupesh Baghel welcomed Dhal Das into the party fold by garlanding him. “The beginning has been made. Together, we will remove the BJP,” Baghel said.
The Satnami Guru family, direct descendants of 18th-century social reformer Baba Guru Ghasidas, commands reverence and formidable electoral clout among the Scheduled Caste (SC) electorate across central Chhattisgarh.
Das said he joined the Congress because he felt that the needy people were not getting the peace, development, welfare and justice they deserved under the BJP government. “The public knows exactly what the BJP is doing,” he said. On his electoral ambitions, he added, “If the Congress leadership provides me an opportunity, I am keen to contest from Mungeli assembly constituency. However, I am prepared to contest from wherever the party decides to field me.” Das said he had consulted his father and younger brother.