Bhupesh Baghel was re-elected as an MLA in 2023, but Congress lost the state polls. (File)
Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is set to return to the Lok Sabha race after a decade. Mr Baghel, a six-term Congress MLA, has been fielded from Rajnandgaon seat, considered a stronghold of the ruling BJP.
Here are 5 key facts about Bhupesh Baghel:
Born on August 23, 1961, in Durg district, Mr Baghel is the son of a farmer. He belongs to the Kurmi community and is an OBC face of the Congress in Chhattisgarh.
The 62-year-old began his career in politics in the early 1980s under the guidance of the Congress leader Chandulal Chandrakar. During his initial days, he was a member of the Indian Youth Congress and held the vice-president post of the Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress between 1994-95. His first major success came in 1993 when he won the Madhya Pradesh Assembly election from Patan constituency. He was re-elected from the same seat in 1998. In December 1998, he was appointed as the Minister of State for Public Grievance in unified Madhya Pradesh in the Digvijay Singh-led government.
After Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000, Bhupesh Baghel became the Minister for Revenue, Public Health Engineering and Relief Work. He held the post until 2003. Later, he led the Opposition in the Chhattisgarh Assembly for over a decade. Mr Baghel lost the Patan seat in the 2008 elections. He also lost the Lok Sabha elections in Raipur in 2009 and in Durg in 2004.
Mr Baghel served as the president of Congress' Chhattisgarh unit from October 2014 to June 2019. After leading the Opposition for 15 years, he led the Congress party to a landslide victory in the 2018 Chhattisgarh Assembly elections. Mr Baghel, elected from the Patan seat, took oath as the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister on December 17, 2018.
In the 2023 Chhattisgarh Assembly polls, Mr Baghel was re-elected from the Patan seat, but the Congress managed to secure only 35 out of 90 seats. BJP's Vishnu Deo Sai took over as the Chief Minister.
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