Raipur: In a significant development, Vishnu Deo Sai was named as the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. Sai is a tribal leader and an important BJP name in the state.
The BJP had won the recently concluded assembly elections in the state of Chhattisgarh and took back the state by defeating Bhupesh Baghel led Congress. The BJP had a 15-year rule in the state before the Congress had won in 2018. However, the Congress could not retain the state as the BJP emerged victorious in Chhattisgarh.
In the 90-member assembly house, the BJP comfortably won the assembly elections in the state by winning 54 seats compared to 35 won by the Congress.
Who is Vishnu Deo Sai?
Vishnu Deo Sai is from Sarguja Division in North Chhattisgarh. He will only be the second tribal Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh after Ajit Jogi.
Vishnu Deo Sai is from the 'Teli' community. The community has strong presence in Durg, Raipur and Bilaspur. He is 59 years old.
In the first Narendra Modi led government in 2014, Sai had the portfolio of Union Minister of State for Mines, and Steel.
He fought and won the recent assembly election in the state from Kunkuri in north Chhattisgarh. He defeated the sitting Congress MLA UD Minj from the seat.
The decision to make Sai the CM was taken at a meeting of the BJP's 54 newly-elected members of the legislative Assembly at Raipur on Sunday (December 10). The meeting was attended by the party's central observers Sarbananda Sonowal and Arjun Munda.
Sai was also the party's state president from 2020 to 2022.
After getting named and felicitated as Chhattisgarh's new Chief Minister, Vishnu Deo Sai, speaking to the press said that providing homes to people would be the first priority of his government.
