Bjp New Choice Tribal Leader Vishnu Deo Sai Is New Chhattisgarh Chief Minister

In a significant development, Vishnu Deo Sai, a prominent tribal leader and former Union Minister, has emerged as the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) choice for the next Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh in anticipation of the 2024 general elections. Following a week of deliberations, Sai secured his position as the leader of the BJP's legislature party during a meeting attended by the newly-elected 54 MLAs.

This decision aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of having a tribal leader as the Chief Minister in Chhattisgarh, a state where tribals constitute 32% of the population, making them the second-largest group after the Other Backward Classes (OBC). The BJP faced a dilemma in choosing between a tribal and an OBC candidate but ultimately leaned towards the tribal community due to the party's remarkable performance in tribal areas. The BJP succeeded in winning all 14 assembly seats in the tribal-dominated Surguja region and eight out of the 12 seats in Bastar.

Vishnu Deo Sai, aged 59, enjoys favor from the party's ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and has close ties with former Chief Minister Raman Singh, a key figure in the state's BJP leadership. With a non-controversial image and a proven track record of organizational skills, Sai served as the president of the Chhattisgarh unit of the party from 2020 to 2022.

A four-term Member of Parliament, Sai previously held the position of junior minister for steel in the Narendra Modi government when it assumed power in 2014. Expressing gratitude to PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda, and other party leaders, Sai pledged to fulfill PM Modi's commitments through the government.

In outlining his priorities, Sai emphasized that sanctioning 18 lakh houses under a housing scheme would be the initial focus in the state. The potential for Sai to take on a more significant role was hinted at by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a recent poll rally, where he urged voters to elect Sai, promising that he would become a "big man" if the party secured victory in the state.

The BJP's triumph in the recently held assembly election saw the party secure 54 seats in the 90-member Assembly, leading to a change in power as it displaced the Congress, which saw its seat count reduced from 68 in 2018 to 35.