Raipur is going about its business as usual. The city is as serene as always. In fact, for most of Chhattisgarh, it is the same. But this makes up for just one section of the people. The political circle on the other hand is buzzing; and why not, the state is going to polls next month.

A lot is at stake. Chhattisgarh is bipolar in terms of political parties — with Congress and BJP as the main players here. The BJP, which lost the state to Congress in 2018, after governing it for 15 years, is trying to win it back. It's cornering the state government on issues such as poor infrastructure, alleged illegal religious conversions, the delisting of christian tribals, crime against women, etc.

But the BJP is working the hardest on highlighting the corruption issue and the third chief minister of the state Congress' Bhupesh Baghel is the reason for the same. Back in 2018, Baghel was not the obvious, or the only choice for the CM's position. In the last five years, he has worked a lot on building his image and his PR. He has tried to make a brand out of himself, which is precisely what the BJP is trying to tarnish by talking about the corruption angle. But Baghel says it will not succeed.

Sitting at his official residence in Raipur, the Chhattisgarh CM, in an interview to CNBC-TV18, confidently declared that this time Congress will win 75 out of 90 seats in the upcoming state elections, which will take place in two phases (November 7 and November 17). "Abki baar pacchatar paar," the incumbent CM said.

On being asked about corruption cases such as the Mahadev betting app, Public Service Commission scam, liquor scam, and coal scam, he said that it's all staged by the BJP and the Central government. Baghel said that the BJP is trying very hard to tarnish his image but is unable to. "They are using Central agencies to find something against us. Let me ask them, with all these raids and arrests, why the ED still does not have a concrete case or solid evidence against us. In fact, if I talk about the 'coal scam' alone, if something wrong was happening, how was it that the Central government officers, who were very much a part of these projects, unaware. Were they also involved? If yes, why is there no action against them," the CM said.

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in one of his rallies in Chhattisgarh, released an 'aarop patra' (a chargesheet) against Baghel talking about various corruption cases. In his interview to CNBC-TV18, Baghel said his 'pratyarop' (counter chargesheet) against Shah is why the ED raided certain contractors but nothing happened after that. "The ED and BJP made a deal (talking about accepting bribe) with the other people who were involved in these alleged scams? They (BJP) got something from these people, and hence, there wasn't any action against them," he said.

Baghel also said that the work his government has done in the last five years, in the areas of economy, education, health and preserving the state's culture, will enable Congress to retain its power in the state.

On his most ambitious and talked about welfare scheme, the paddy production bonus, Baghel said it has changed the lives of the farmers in the state. On being asked about the burden the scheme is putting on the state's exchequer, he said, "The help we are providing the farmers in the form of these bonuses is improving their income. They are putting this money back in the system by investing more in the agri sector. We also focused on other streams to generate more revenue, hence ensuring that these bonuses are not putting any extra burden on the state's exchequer." Paddy procurement price in Chhattisgarh is Rs 2500/quintal. The Chhattisgarh governemnt is spending around Rs 6,000 crore for the bonuses it is paying paddy farmers over and above the MSP fixed by the Centre.

The Chhattisgarh Congress, though still riding high on its previous victory, is facing internal conflict. The tussle between Baghel and Congress leader TS Singhdeo is known to all. The latter was responsible for getting tribal votes for the party in 2018 and was expected to become the CM. There were reports of the possibility of both Baghel and Singhdeo taking turns to become the CM for two-and-a-half years each. But that didn't happen. In fact, Singhdeo has time-and-again accused that he is not allowed to work properly and is being prevented from fulfilling the promises he made to the people. There is unrest among other MLAs as well over one or the other issue. But CM Baghel told CNBC-TV18 that "all is well." He said the Congress is as united as ever and the trouble lies int he BJP camp, which should focus on getting its house in order.

He also claimed that his governemnt has done a lot to develop the naxal-affected areas in the last five years and has freed 600 villages from naxalites. In the 2018 state elections, a Doordarshan video journalist, and other security personnel were killed by naxalites in Nilawaya, Dantewada. Baghel claimed that this time, there will be no unpleasant incident in the naxal-affected areas, and the people will be able to cast their votes without any fear.

He dismissed the delisting of christian tribals and alleged illegal religious conversion as non issues being trumped up by the BJP, which has nothing to do with the common people. On being asked about who will be the next CM of the state if Congress wins, Baghel said that would be decided by the Congress High Command.

Also Read: Chhattisgarh Assembly Election 2023: A SWOT analysis of the grand old party

(Edited by : Shloka Badkar)

First Published:Oct 17, 2023 8:00 AM IST