Soon after his election as chief of the BJP Legislature Party on Monday, Raman Singh said the priority was to work hard to win all 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh in the 2014 general election.
“The priority would be to fulfil our commitments made in the party manifesto before the Assembly election,” Mr. Singh told the Legislature Party meeting. The 49-member Legislature Party unanimously adopted a resolution moved by State party president Ram Sewak Paikra to elect 61-year-old Raman Singh to head the government. BJP vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu, party national organisational secretary Saudan Singh and general secretary J.P. Nadda attended the meeting.
Mr. Raman Singh will take oath of office on December 12. However, it is not clear when his Council of Ministers will be sworn in. Mr. Singh said Ministers would be selected as soon as possible after consultations with senior leaders.
Earlier, the Chief Minister had sent in his resignation to the Governor, who asked him to continue in office until the new government is formed.
Addressing the legislators, Mr. Naidu said: “Any black spot on our white dress will be noticed by others. We have a larger responsibility to fulfil and we have to do it with greater transparency and integrity.”
Sonia’s birthdayMeanwhile, a few State Congress leaders spent time in an otherwise deserted party office, distributing fruits to the poor and helpless.
“To mark Sonia Gandhi’s birthday, fruits are distributed among the poor,” a party release said.