New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday, June 28, appointed T.S. Singh Deo, who has been at loggerheads with chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, as the deputy CM of Chhattisgarh ahead of assembly elections in the state later this year.
In a tweet, Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said that party presidet Mallikarjun Kharge has “approved the proposal” for Singh Deo’s appointment as the deputy CM of Chhattisgarh.
“He is a loyal Congress leader and an able administrator. The state will benefit greatly from his services as Deputy CM. We are confident that the people of Chattisgarh will re-elect the Congress with a thumping majority under the leadership of Kharge ji and Rahul Gandhi ji,” the tweet said.
INC President Sh. Mallikarjun @kharge ji has approved the proposal for appointment of Sh. TS Singh Deo @TS_SinghDeo ji as the Deputy Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh.
He is a loyal Congress leader and an able administrator. The state will benefit greatly from his services as…
— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) June 28, 2023
Singh Deo resigned as the minister of the panchayat raj and rural development in July 2022, accusing the state government of not alloting funds to build houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
At the time of the Congress’s victory in the 2018 assembly elections, there was reportedly an agreement for Baghel and Singh Deo to share power for two-and-a-half-years each. Since 2021, the mid-point of the five year term, Singh Deo has levelled allegations of corruption against Baghel.
Chattisgarh will go to the polls later this year, along with Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana.