'Congress will retain power in Chhattisgarh, high command to decide CM'

RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh deputy Chief Minister T S Singh Deo on Thursday said he takes exit polls results with a pinch of salt and the Congress will retain power in the state.

The party high command's choice for the chief minister's post would be acceptable to all, he told PTI in Delhi.

A few exit polls on Thursday predicted a close race between the ruling Congress and opposition Bharatiya Janata Party in Chhattisgarh.

"As far as projections are concerned, I always take them with a pinch of salt. They are attempts by various news channels and agencies to guess what may have happened in elections. We should wait for the 3rd (of December)," Singh Deo told PTI.

“In Madhya Pradesh, a Congress government should be coming (to power). In Rajasthan, we are very much there. Because it has been a traditional in-and-out format (in Rajasthan), five years one party, next five years another party, so that is the only hesitation (while predicting the party's victory),” he said.

The Congress was very likely to form government in Telangana, he said, adding, "In Chhattisgarh, we are forming the government." “Rajasthan seems to be the toughest. In Telangana, because the BRS has been there (in power) for two terms continuously the Congress was not given much of a chance sometime back. But whatever I am seeing on channels...voters coming out of the booths are openly saying we have voted for Congress," Singh Deo said.

The Congress is strong in Telangana's rural areas and if the same trend prevailed in Hyderabad, the party will certainly win the state, he claimed.

Asked who would be the chief minister if the Congress retained power in Chhattisgarh, Singh Deo said, “Whoever the high command decides. Nobody wants to place himself as chief ministerial candidate and it is the high command which should take the call. Whoever they designate to take the responsibility, we will work together." Singh Deo was in contention for the CM's post in 2018 though it was Bhupesh Baghel who ultimately got the top post.

Asked how the results would impact next year's Lok Sabha polls, he said a good performance by the Congress will create "an atmosphere" for the Opposition's INDIA grouping.

"We are wanting a change and needing a change. The country needs these fascist people in power to be removed," he added.