Former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, considered by many as a hurdle in the road of Congress victory in Chhattisgarh, has finally declared that he does not nurture any chief ministerial aspirations. This may lead to realignment of forces within the state Congress as observers think that like S M Krishna, he would also be ignored.
Chief Minister Raman Singh, whose Vikas Yatra is literally sweeping the state with big crowds under sweltering heat, is touching literally every corner of the state. The month-long yatra is also being addressed by senior BJP leaders at well-chosen points. L K Advani, Nitin Gadkari and Narendra Modi have already addressed huge crowds in the state.
Jogi’s detractors, on the other hand, believe that the Congress lost two elections in a row to Singh because of his tendency to pack the Congress candidates’ list with names of his close aides.
“I am a not a candidate for chief ministership and the high command will decide who fits that role. In each state, the party takes a view and then picks the best candidate. In Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka we have followed different formulae,” Jogi said.
While this puts to rest speculations, Jogi has played well by declaring that he is keen on contesting against Raman Singh from Rajnandgaon. He had made a similar statement in 2009 challenging Singh to pick a seat of choice to contest against him, thus making him the undeclared CM candidate.