Chhattisgarh likely to have Arun Sao and Vijay Sharma as Deputy CMs, Raman Singh as Speaker: Report

As Bharatiya Janata's Party (BJP) leader Vishnu Deo Sai was declared the next chief minister of Chhattisgarh, several reports on Sunday claimed that Arun Sao is likely to be appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state.

Aajtak reported that there might be two Deputy Chief Ministers in the state — one Arun Sao and the other Vijay Sharma. It also said former Chief Minister Raman Singh may take over as the Speaker of the Chhattisgarh Assembly.

ALSO READ: BJP appoints Vishnu Deo Sai as next Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh

Arun Sao, a leader from the Other Backward Classes (OBC), is currently the chief of Chhattisgarh BJP. Sao had replaced Vishnu Deo Sai as the Chhattisgarh BJP chief in 2022, just a year before the assembly elections. In the 2023 state elections, Sao defeated Congress leader Thaneshwar Sahu from the Lormi seat by 45,891 votes.

Meanwhile, BJP's Vijay Sharma defeated Congress leader and state minister Mohamad Akbar in Kawardha by 39,592 votes. According to PTI, Sharma polled the highest number of votes at 1,44,257, compared to other candidates in the state in this election.

Besides, Raman Singh, who is likely to serve as the assembly Speaker, is a BJP stalwart in the state and has served as the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister thrice from 2003 to 2018. In the 2023 elections, Raman Singh defeated Congress's Girish Dewangan in the Rajnandgaon assembly constituency by 45,084 vote margin.

While date for the oath-taking ceremony is yet to announced, sources told Times Now that Vishnu Deo Singh, with eight others, are likely to take the oath on December 12. The new chief minister must take over the office before January 3, 2024, when the tenure of the current Chhattisgarh Assembly ends.

After days of suspense, the BJP announced Vishnu Deo Sai, a prominent tribal leader, as the next chief minister of Chhattisgarh on Sunday. After the meeting, a delegation of BJP MLAs led by Sai met governor Biswabhusan Harichandan to stake a claim to form the next government.

“We have handed over a letter to the Governor stating that Sai ji has been elected as the legislative party leader,” senior BJP MLA Brijmohan Agrawal told reporters. He was quoted by PTI as saying that the date of the swearing-in ceremony would be informed later.

The assembly elections in Chhattisgarh was held in two phases, with the first on November 7 featuring 223 candidates and the second seeing 958 candidates put their electoral fates to the test on November 17. Of the 90 assembly constituencies in Chhattisgarh, the BJP bagged 54 while the Congress won 35