Vishnu Deo Sai – tribal leader and former Union Minister – will be sworn in as Chhattisgarh Chief Minister on Wednesday, the BJP announced today.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the oath ceremony that will take place at 2pm at Raipur’s Science College ground.
Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP chief JP Nadda, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and several BJP chief ministers and senior leaders will also attend the ceremony.
Mr Sai, known to be favoured by the party’s ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), is close to former Chief Minister Raman Singh, who has been the party’s tallest leader in the state.
Last month, in the run-up to the polls, Amit Shah, addressing a poll rally in Kunkuri, indicated that Mr Sai could be picked for a larger role.
Mr Sai would be made a “big man” if the party comes to power in the state, Mr Shah had said.
The four-term MP, who has been the president of the Chhattisgarh unit of the party from 2020 to 2022, is known for his organisational capability and has a non-controversial image.
The BJP claims that Mr Sai is the first tribal Chief Minister of the state.
The party has always contradicted former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi’s status as a tribal. His Scheduled Tribe status was challenged in the Chhattisgarh high court, which ordered that a committee be set up to examine the issue.
