Singh, the two-term Chief Minister who had an uninterrupted 10-year rule in the tribal-dominated state, earned the ‘Chawal Wale Baba” sobriquet for the popularity of his unique pro-welfare schemes including distribution of rice at Rs one and Rs two per kg to families belonging to extremely poor and below poverty lines categories.
Born on October 15, 1952 in Kawardha, Singh, a ‘Rajput', has been active in politics since 1976.
Interacting with reporters yesterday, Singh had said, “It is a failure of Congress strategists. They were so involved in 18 seats (which went to polls in the first phase on November 11), that they did not think of the 19th seat. Even Rahul Gandhi used to talk about 18 seats and he also did not talk about 19th seats.”
Singh had said he would concentrate on good governance and more development work during his third tenure. Balloting in Chhattisgarh was held on November 11 and 19 and the result was announced on December 8.
