Raipur, Jul 12 (PTI) Ahead of the Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh, the Congress on Wednesday appointed party MP Deepak Baij, a prominent young tribal leader from Bastar region, as its state unit chief replacing Mohan Markam.
While making a major orgnisational change ahead of assembly polls replacing its incumbent chief who is also a tribal and hails from the same Bastar region, the party tried to maintain the balance of caste and regional equations to consolidate its electoral position, experts said.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took a jibe at the Congress and accused the grand old party of using Markam as a part of its “use and throw” policy.
Baij, a two-time MLA from Chitrakot assembly constituency (Scheduled Tribe reserved) in Bastar district, quit as an MLA after he was elected as a Member of Parliament from Bastar Lok Sabha seat in 2019 general elections. Victory in parliamentary elections amid the ‘Modi wave’ brought him to limelight.
The 42-year leader had been vocal in raising pro-farmers and pro-tribal issues both inside the assembly and Lok Sabha.
Born at Gadhia village in Bastar district on July 14 in 1981, Baij has been active in politics since his student life.
At the age of 27, he became president of National Student Union of India’s (NSUI- a student wing of Congress) Bastar district in 2008 and next year, he was elevated as general secretary of Bastar district unit of Youth Congress.
Baij was elected as an MLA for the first time in 2013 and then for the second consecutive term in 2018.
The party gave him a ticket in 2019 Lok Sabha elections to cash in on his rising popularity as a youth leader from Bastar region- south Chhattisgarh, which comprises seven districts.
He was awarded ‘Adarsh Yuva Vidhayak Puraskar’ by the ‘Indian Student Parliament’ MIT Pune, Maharashtra in 2017.
Speculations were rife from the last few months that the Congress will change its chief in the party-ruled state ahead of elections.
Uncertainty was prevailing over Markam’s continuation as the Congress’s state chief as there was buzz that Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel was reportedly unhappy with many of his decisions.
The latest among Markam’s decisions was the reshuffle of general secretaries he made last month, which was later cancelled by AICC state in-charge Kumari Selja, political expert R Krishna Das said.
There was also speculation that the Congress will not take risk of replacing the incumbent tribal chief with the non-tribal one and ignoring Bastar region, he said.
With Baij’s appointment, the Congress has ensured its balanced caste and regional equations to consolidate its electoral position ahead of the year-end state polls, he said.
Last month, the ruling party elevated sulking minister T S Singh Deo, who has considerable influence in Surguja region – north Chhattisgarh, as deputy chief minister.
It will be one of the key tasks of Baij Markam to retain support of people, particularly of his community that constitutes about 32 per cent of the state, in assembly polls, he added.
State BJP chief Arun Sao said, “Markam ji had been vocal against the corruption of the Congress government. He had exposed many cases of corruption of the Baghel government including in the DMF. This corrupt government did not like it and removed him by hatching a conspiracy as a part of its use and throw policy.” There is not even an iota of internal democracy left within the Congress. This is dangerous. Tribal society is insulted, Sao said in a statement.
“Markam ji was running the party under the authority he got under the Congress’s constitution and therefore he was on the target of ’10 Janpath’. Markam ji should quit Congress,” he added. PTI TKP NP
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