Vishnu Deo Sai has officially been designated as the incoming Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. Announcing the decision, PC Mohan, the Lok Sabha member representing Bangalore Central constituency, hailed Sai as “a grassroots leader.” Here is a comprehensive overview of Sai, a significant figure in tribal leadership.
Former Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vishnu Deo Sai is poised to take on the role of the new Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. A prominent tribal leader within the BJP, Sai is expected to assume office before January 3, 2024, coinciding with the conclusion of the Chhattisgarh Assembly’s current term. The exact date for Sai’s swearing-in as the new Chief Minister is yet to be announced.
Expressing his commitment to the principles of ‘Sabka Vishwas,’ Sai, upon his appointment, stated, “…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.”
Vishnu Deo Sai, belonging to the tribal Sahu (Teli) community, is hailed as a grassroots leader with significant influence in the Durg, Raipur, and Bilaspur divisions. The announcement of his appointment was made by PC Mohan, the Lok Sabha member from Bangalore Central constituency.
Renuka Singh Saruta, a BJP leader and Union Minister, expressed her happiness, noting that Sai’s selection marked the first instance of a party worker from the tribal community, belonging to a farmer’s family, being elected as the Chief Minister.
Sai emerged victorious in the Chhattisgarh Election 2023 from the Kunkuri constituency, defeating Congress candidate UD Minj by a margin of 25,541 votes. This formal announcement on Sunday makes Vishnu Deo Sai the second tribal Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh after Ajit Jogi.
Vishnu Deo Sai, a member of the BJP’s “National Working Committee,” previously served as the Union Minister of State for Mines and Steel in the first Cabinet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has a notable political history, having been the BJP’s Chhattisgarh president from 2006 to 2010 and again from January to August 2014. Following the BJP’s loss of power in 2018, he was reinstated to lead the party in Chhattisgarh in 2020 but was replaced in 2022, just a year before the assembly polls.
Starting his political journey in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly between 1990-98, Vishnu Deo Sai was elected as a Member of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly from 1990-1998, representing the Tapkara constituency. He later ventured into national politics, winning four consecutive Lok Sabha elections from the Raigarh constituency from 1999 to 2014.
Vishnu Deo Sai’s educational background includes studies in a government school in Kunkuri. Despite starting his graduation in Ambikapur, he discontinued his studies midway and returned to his village in 1988. In 1989, he was elected as a ‘panch’ of Bagia village panchayat and became the sarpanch unopposed the following year.
The Chhattisgarh assembly elections, held in two phases in November, saw the BJP securing 54 of the 90 assembly constituencies, while the Congress won 35.