Chhattisgarh: In a significant political development, Raman Singh, who served as Chief Minister three times from 2003 to 2018, will be the Speaker of the Chhattisgarh assembly, said sources on Sunday.
Who is Raman Singh?
Raman Singh is one of the vice presidents of the BJP who also served as the second Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. Singh was the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister for three full terms from 2003 to 2018.
The BJP veteran has represented the Rajnandgaon Assembly constituency since 2008. In the 2018 Chhattisgarh Assembly Election, Singh defeated Congress candidate Karuna Shukla by 16,933 votes. He won the constituency in 2008 and 2013 also by defeating Congress candidates Udai Mudliyar and later his wife Alka Udai Mudliyar.
The BJP leader won the Kawardha constituency twice in undivided Madhya Pradesh in 1990 and 1993 before losing it to Congress candidate Yogeshwar Raj Singh by 15,426 votes. Raman Singh also represented the Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha constituency in 1999 when he defeated Congress stalwart and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Motilal Vora by 26,715 votes and became the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government from 1999 to 2003. He also represented the Dongargaon Assembly constituency after winning a bypoll once from 2004 to 2008.
Vishnu Deo Sai new CM of Chhattisgarh
Earlier in the day, the BJP named Vishnu Deo Sai, a prominent tribal face of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Chhattisgarh, as chief minister after he was elected as leader of BJP's legislative party during a meeting of 54 newly-elected MLAs in Raipur today (December 10).
Vishnu Deo Sai won the Chhattisgarh Assembly Election 2023 from Kunkuri. Sai was the Chhattisgarh state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from 2020 to 2022. He was also the Minister of State (MoS) for Steel, Mines, Labour and Employment during the first Narendra Modi Cabinet. Vishnu Deo won four consecutive Lok Sabha elections from the Raigarh constituency in 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014.
Meanwhile, BJP leaders Arun Sao and Vijay Sharma were named as the new Deputy Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh.
Chhattisgarh Assembly Election 2023
The polling in the state was held in two phases, with the first on November 7 featuring 223 candidates and the second seeing 958 candidates put their electoral fates to the test on November 17.
Of the 90 assembly constituencies in Chhattisgarh, the BJP bagged 54 while the Congress won 35.
Also Read: Vishnu Deo Sai to be Chhattisgarh's next Chief Minister, two Deputy CMs to be inducted
Also Read: Arun Sao, Vijay Sharma to become Deputy Chief Ministers in Chhattisgarh, say sources
