THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Raipur, Dec 10: Vishnu Deo Sai was announced today as the first tribal chief minister of Chhattisgarh, a state created along with Jharkhand and Uttarakhand in 2000.
Sai is said to be among the most senior tribal leaders in Chhattisgarh. A former Union Minister and four-time Lok Sabha MP, 59-year-old Sai was also a two-time MLA in undivided Madhya Pradesh.
At an election rally, Amit Shah had said that he would make Sai a “big man” if he is voted to power.
Meanwhile, BJP leaders Vijay Sharma and Arun Sao were named as the new Deputy Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh.
In another significant development, Raman Singh, who served as Chief Minister thrice from 2003 to 2018, will be the Speaker of the Chhattisgarh assembly.
The BJP returned to power in Chhattisgarh winning 54 seats, including 17 of the 29 reserved for tribals in Chhattisgarh.
Earlier, the party’s three central observers- Union ministers, Arjun Munda and Sarbananda Sonowal, and party general secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam – held the brainstorming with the leaders and came up with Sai as the next face of the government in Chhattisgarh.
Who is Vishnu Deo Sai?
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.
Sai defeated Congress candidates Pushpa Devi Singh, Rampukar Singh, Hridayaram Rathiya and Arti Singh respectively in these elections.
Sai won two consecutive Assembly elections in 1990 and 1993 from the Tapkara constituency in undivided Madhya Pradesh. Vishnu Deo defeated UD Minj, the sitting Congress MLA, this time in the Chhattisgarh Assembly Election 2023.
