RAIPUR: The BJP on Sunday picked Vishnu Deo Sai, a prominent tribal leader, as the next chief minister of Chhattisgarh, ending the suspense over who will helm the state which the saffron party wrested from Congress in recent polls.
Sai (59) was elected as the BJP's legislative party leader at a meeting of 54 newly-elected MLAs held at the party's state headquarters here in the afternoon, a party functionary said.
In the evening, Chhattisgarh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan invited Sai to form a government and handed him a letter pertaining to his appointment as the Chief Minister after the BJP submitted a letter formally staking a claim.
The swearing-in ceremony of the new chief minister may take place on December 12 or 13 as per the availability of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a senior BJP leader said.
“We have handed over a letter to the Governor stating that Sai ji has been elected as the legislative party leader,” senior BJP MLA Brijmohan Agrawal told reporters after a delegation of BJP MLAs led by Sai met the governor.
BJP's state president Arun Sao stated in the letter that Sai has been elected the leader of the BJP's legislative party by the MLAs and staked a claim to form the government, a statement issued by the Raj Bhavan said.
The governor congratulated Sai and handed over a letter pertaining to his appointment as the Chief Minister under Article 164 of the Constitution and invited him to form the cabinet, it added.
On the occasion, Union ministers Arjun Munda, Sarbananda Sonowal and Mansukh Mandaviya, BJP's in-charge for Chhattisgarh Om Mathur, newly-elected BJP MLAs and others were present, as per the release.
After visiting Raj Bhavan, Arun Sao told reporters the swearing-in ceremony of Sai may take place on December 12 or 13 as per the availability of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Querioed on speculations about the appointment of a deputy chief minister in the state, Sai said the new CM and the party central leadership will decide about it.
Earlier in the day, senior BJP leader Raman Singh had said, ahead of the meeting of MLAs, that the new government may have a deputy chief minister,.
Sai thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda and other party leaders for reposing faith in him to hold the top post in Chhattisgarh.
"As chief minister of Chhattisgarh, I will try to fulfil the BJP's pre-poll promises which are PM Modi's guarantees through the government," Sai said.
“In the five years (of Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government), 18 lakh beneficiaries of the PM Awas Yojna were deprived of the benefits under this scheme. Sanctioning 18 lakh houses to these beneficiaries will be the first work (to be done) in the state”, he said.
On the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister (late) Atal Bihari Vajpayee December 25, who was the founder of Chhattisgarh State, a bonus against paddy procurement for two years which was pending during the previous BJP government (2013-2018) will be given to farmers (who had then sold their paddy), Sai added.
He said all the guarantees of Modi Ji and BJP's poll promises will be fulfilled in the next five years.
Sai will be the fourth chief minister of the state. His predecessors included Ajit Jogi (Congress), Raman Singh (BJP) who helmed the state for three consecutive terms starting from 2003 to 2018, and Bhupesh Baghel (Congress) who held the top post from 2018 to December 2023.
When asked whether his appointment to the top post will benefit the party in adjoining tribal-dominated states like Odisha and Jharkhand, Sai said tribals of the country are associated with BJP as they very well know that it is their only well-wisher party.
“Droupadi Murmu ji, who comes from a tribal community, became the President under the BJP regime. A separate tribal development ministry was formed when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government was in power. Vajpayee ji was also the founder of Chhattisgarh," he said.
Sai accused the Congress of treating tribals as a vote bank and said the BJP takes care of their welfare.
Sai, a former Union minister who had also served as Chhattisgarh BJP chief, was elected as an MLA from the Kunkuri seat in the state's Surguja division, which was swept by the BJP, in the assembly elections last month.
Overall, the BJP bagged 17 of the 29 seats reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, a feat that added crucial numbers to its winning tally.