State BJP leaders, including Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, is attending a two-day national meet in Delhi from Friday. Mr. Singh is expected to hand-pick his favourite for the post of State President. “We are hoping that the Chief Minister will be able to announce the State president shortly after his series of meetings in Delhi,” said a party official in Raipur. BJP State president post lay vacant as the former party-chief Ramsewak Paikra, a tribal, fought and won from north Chhattisgarh. Mr. Paikra is presently the State Home Minister.
Political observers believe caste and tribal equations will determine the selection of the State president. While BJP has won most of the seats in areas dominated by Scheduled Castes (SC), its performance in the constituencies controlled by Other Backward Class (OBC) is fairly mixed. In parts of central and south Chhattisgarh, the OBCs clearly voted against the BJP, defeating the party in majority of seats. However, in other parts of Chhattisgarh, OBCs stayed with the BJP. But the ruling party in the State was routed in tribal areas which may compel the Chief Minister to choose a tribal as the next president. The parliamentarian from Raigarh, Vishu Deo Sai will have a clear chance of bagging the top party job, if Mr Singh decides to boost the tribal constituencies by selecting a tribal as president.
However, if the Chief Minister wants to re-infiltrate OBC ruled areas, particularly in Bastar Division, he may ask the former Speaker Dharamlal Kaushik—a Kurmi (OBC) — to head the party. Similarly to appease the SCs he may choose former parliamentarian Guharam Ajgale. However, BJP cadres in the State are not expecting a SC community member to lead the party in the State.
