Though the Bhupesh Baghel-led government in Chhattisgarh has completed its five-year term, but the challenges before him have still not reduced. On the one hand, the opposition party BJP is standing before him as a challenge, on the other hand, he is facing challenges from within the Congress.
The list of Congress candidates for the assembly elections is yet to come and before that, there is confusion among the contenders over the tickets. From religious differences to Hindutva, there are issues through which the BJP is trying to corner Baghel, while within the Congress too, voices have been raised against Baghel. These are the people who fear their tickets would not be approved.
The BJP has made many allegations against Bhupesh Baghel, alleging large scale scams like the liquor scam, sand scam, coal scam, cow dung purchase and Gothan scheme. Also in the tribal areas, BJP has been making Hindutva and religious conversion big issues.
The BJP has attacked the Baghel government on issues like Hindutva, religious conversion, love jihad and has tried to create an anti-Hindu image of him, while allegations of scams in the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission examination are also being made. These are the issues which remain a challenge for the Congress and Bhupesh Baghel.
Not only this, the action taken by the central investigating agencies is also going to put the government in the dock because crores of rupees have been recovered in the raids conducted on many leaders and officials and arrests have also been made. Regarding these, the BJP is openly accusing the government of corruption.
Also, there are many leaders within the Congress who are posing a challenge for Bhupesh Baghel. Recently, even after the changes in the cabinet, voices of protest were raised against him but later they were muted. Similarly, the cancellation of tickets of many MLAs is coming to light and many claimants are planning to rebel over this.
Overall, while the BJP is becoming a big challenge for Bhupesh Baghel, there is also the fear of dissatisfaction within the party and this fear will remain till the candidates are decided by the party.
Political analysts believe that Bhupesh Baghel has better mobilisation at the grassroots level and is close to the MLAs and is also familiar with every part of the state because he visited all the assembly seats and held meetings. He reviewed the political scenario and is aware of the situation of the MLAs, so even if the MLAs rebel due to ticket cancellation, Baghel has plenty of alternative arrangements.
The BJP is attacking but it is not having much impact. In the coming days it will become clear what will be the biggest challenge for Baghel. However, if the activities of the central investigation agencies increase, then it can pose a bigger challenge for him.
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