Chhattisgarh Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel was yesterday named the new chief minister of the state and he vowed in no time to cancel within 10 days bank loans taken by farmers - a campaign promise that led to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s rout in assembly elections.
Shortly after the 58-year-old Baghel was elected the Congress Legislature Party leader by party lawmakers, he announced that he would take oath as the third chief minister of Chhattisgarh today at 4.30pm at the Science College Ground in Raipur.
Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress observer for Chhattisgarh, told reporters that Baghel was elected unanimously by the legislators but only he would take oath tomorrow. The names of ministers would be declared later “after detailed discussions with all stakeholders”.
“I am committed to waiving farmers’ bank loans within 10 days,” said Baghel.
He added that the Congress government would unravel the conspiracy that led to the killing of top Congress leaders by Maoist rebels in the Jheeram Valley in Bastar in May 2013. Among the dead were then state Congress chief Nandkumar Patel, veteran V C Shukla and Mahendra Karma.
In his first tweet as chief minister-elect, Baghel expressed his gratitude to Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who he said had given him the responsibility of building “a new Chhattisgarh”.
“I can assure the great people of Chhattisgarh that the new Congress government would live up to their expectations and wishes.” 
The Congress said on Twitter: “We wish him the best as he forms a government of equality, transparency and integrity starting off with farm loan waiver for farmers as we promised.” 
Baghel is a powerful leader of the OBC community which makes up 52% of the state’s 2.55 crore population.
The five-time MLA was elected from Patan in Durg district. He was revenue minister in Ajit Jogi’s first government in Chhattisgarh that was voted out in 2003.
Baghel was also in the centre-stage of the ousted BJP government’s attacks and was recently jailed for some days in Raipur after he was charge-sheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation for his alleged role in the circulation of a sleaze CD against a powerful BJP minister in Chhattisgarh.
He launched his political career in early 1980s from Durg district under the guidance of the late Chandulal Chandrakar. He joined the Youth Congress in 1985 and was elected to the undivided Madhya Pradesh Assembly for the first time in 1993.
Hailing from a farmer’s family, Baghel is credited with leading the party from the front in the fight against the BJP and scripting the crushing defeat of the 15-year-old regime of Raman Singh. The Congress won 68 of 90 seats.
And although there were other contenders for the chief minister’s post, Baghel was far ahead of them unlike in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan where there was intense tussle on who would get to helm the states.
Ashok Gehlot is Rajasthan’s chief minister designate and Madhya Pradesh has Kamal Nath in the top post. They too will take oath today.
All three states in the Hindi heartland where the BJP lost power to the Congress now have chief ministers.
Meanwhile in a significant development, the Congress yesterday invited Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to the swearing in ceremonies of the three chief ministers.
“The Congress has invited our party and our Chief Minister (Arvind Kejriwal) has authorised me to go as the party representative to Rajasthan,” Sanjay Singh told IANS.
Sanjay Singh, a confidant of Kejriwal, quickly added that “no politics” should be read into this Congress invitation which came amid persistent speculation that the two parties may team up in Delhi against the BJP in the next Lok Sabha polls.
In Delhi, the Congress and the BJP remain in opposition to the Kejriwal-led AAP government but there has been unending speculation that the equations may change, at least in the national capital.
On Saturday, Kejriwal said the AAP’s main aim was to stop the BJP from coming back to power in 2019 and for this alliances cannot be ruled out. But he did not say who the AAP would ally with.