New Delhi: Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer-turned-BJP-leader O.P. Choudhary has won Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh seat, defeating the Congress’ Prakash Shakrajeet Naik by over 64,000 votes.
Choudhary, an other backward classes (OBC) leader, and former CM Raman Singh are said to be among the chief ministerial contenders for the BJP, which is set to form the government in the state. The party has won 53 of the state’s 90 seats (also leading in one), while the Congress has secured 34 (leading in one too).
Considered close to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Choudhary joined the BJP in 2018 and unsuccessfully contested elections from the Kharsia assembly seat in Raigarh district that year. Not only did Choudhary lose from the seat, the BJP, too, was able to secure only 15 seats in the assembly that year, with the Congress winning 68 of 90 seats and forming the government under Bhupesh Baghel.
A senior BJP leader described Choudhary as “a dynamic person who believes in his work”.
“Though he lost the 2018 elections, he did not give up and continued working. He was fielded from another seat this time and managed to win. He has a good image among the public and is surely in the CM race,” said the leader.
Choudhary was a Chhattisgarh-cadre IAS officer of the 2005 batch. His work on educational initiatives had earned him the Prime Minister’s Excellence in Public Administration Award for 2011-12, under the UPA government.
He was reportedly inducted into the BJP at the behest of Raman Singh.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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