Curated By: Sanstuti Nath
Last Updated: December 10, 2023, 16:56 IST
Vishnu Deo Sai was elected BJP’s legislature party leader during a key meeting of party’s newly-elected 54 MLAs in Raipur (Image: X)
Sai also won four consecutive Lok Sabha elections from the Raigarh constituency in 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014
Ending days of suspense, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday picked Vishnu Deo Sai as the new Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. Sai was elected BJP’s legislature party leader during the saffron party’s key meeting of newly-elected 54 MLAs in Raipur today. BJP registered a landslide victory in the recently concluded Chhattisgarh Assembly election 2023, by winning 54 of the 90 seats in the state.
“With all honesty, I will work for ‘Sabka Vishwas’ and the promises made to the people of Chhattisgarh under ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’ will be fulfilled. As a CM of the state, we will try to fulfil the promises. The first work will be to give 18 lakh ‘Awas’ to the people…I would also like to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP Chief JP Nadda for their trust in me,” the CM-designate said in his first media interaction after the big announcement.
Vishnu Deo Sai: BJP’s Pick For Chhattisgarh CM
Sai, 59, will be the first tribal Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh after former CM Ajit Jogi. He comes from the influential Sahu (Teli) community which has a sizable presence in the Durg, Raipur and Bilaspur divisions. Sai is seen as one of the most senior tribal leaders in Chhattisgarh.
Born on 21 February 1964, Sai comes from a farming family in Bagia village in the state’s Jashpur district. He began his political career in his village before 1990, when he was elected as a sarpanch unopposed.
A prominent figure in the BJP, Sai served as State President of the party for Chhattisgarh from 2020 until 2022. He was the Union Minister of State for Mines, and Steel in the first Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government. He is also considered to be close to former Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh.
Sai won the recently concluded Chhattisgarh Assembly Election 2023 from Kunkuri in north Chhattisgarh, by defeating sitting Congress MLA UD Minj. He also won four consecutive Lok Sabha elections from the Raigarh constituency in 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014.
Before that, Sai had won two consecutive Assembly elections in 1990 and 1993 from the Tapkara constituency in undivided Madhya Pradesh.
As per his public records available on the Election Commission’s website, Sai did his higher secondary schooling at Loyola Higher Secondary School, Jashpur’s Kunkuri.
The legislator has declared his total assets worth Rs 2.16 crore before the polls.
Chhattisgarh Election 2023
The BJP on December 3 wrested power from the Congress in Chhattisgarh, winning 54 of the 90 seats in the state assembly, while the grand old party got 35 seats. The saffron party, which suffered a huge setback in Chhattisgarh’s tribal-dominated assembly seats in the 2018 polls, put up a good show this time winning 17 of the 29 seats reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category.
In the 90-member Chhattisgarh assembly, 29 seats are reserved for the ST category, which comprises around 32 per cent of the state’s population. Of the 29 reserved seats, BJP won 17 tribal-dominated seats.
According to poll experts, the public rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda in the tribal belt, the launch of the party’s two parivartan yatras from tribal pockets and pre-poll promises worked in the party’s favour in the Adivasi belt.
BJP’s senior tribal leaders who have this time won from seats reserved for the ST community are Union minister Renuka Singh (Bharatpur-Sonhat), MP Gomti Sai (Pathalgaon), former Union minister Vishnu Deo Sai (Kunkuri), former state ministers Ramvichar Netam (Ramanujganj), Kedar Kashyap (Narayanpur) and Lata Usendi (Kondagaon).
