Why did BJP appoint Vishnu Deo Sai as Chhattisgarh CM over Raman Singh and OP Choudhary?

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) appointment of former Union Minister Vishnu Deo Sai as the next Chief Minister (CM) of Chhattisgarh doesn't come as a surprise. The party had pledged a fresh face for Chhattisgarh, refraining from announcing Raman Singh as the CM candidate.

However, the question arises as to why the party specifically chose Vishnu Sai, a tribal leader, an OBC candidate Om Prakash Choudhary, especially when OBCs constitute a larger portion of the population than tribals.

The tribal and women vote for the BJP 

• Vishnu Deo Sai's selection can be attributed to the significant support of the tribal community and women voters for the BJP in recent Chhattisgarh assembly elections.
• The BJP strategically focused on SC and women voters by initiating several schemes before the elections.
• Recognising that tribal votes constituted nearly 32% of the total votes in the state, the BJP regarded Sai, a veteran politician from the tribal state, as their key candidate in Chhattisgarh.
• The strategy paid off, as the BJP secured victory in 17 out of 29 SC reserved seats in Chhattisgarh, ultimately winning 54 seats compared to the Congress's reduced count of 35.

  

• While the Congress primarily targeted the OBC population (comprising 43% of the population), the BJP approached both tribal and OBC communities equally.
• The Congress's oversight of the tribal vote was speculated to be a reason for their defeat in the state, as their campaigning majorly focused on OBC voters. Rahul Gandhi's emphasis on caste census and 'Jitni Aabadi Utna Haq' did not resonate with the voters.
• Conversely, the BJP strategically targeted women voters before the elections by introducing the 'Mahtari Vandana Yojana' (income support program for women) based on interim surveys.
• Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, the state's poll in-charge, ensured the proper filling of forms and explained the program's benefits to women voters, which significantly impacted the BJP's vote share after a disappointing 2018 performance.

Vishnu Sai as the ideal choice

• Vishnu Deo Sai, a former Union Minister involved in politics since 1990, is a prominent BJP figure among the tribal community in Chhattisgarh and a four-time MP from Raigarh Lok Sabha in 1999, 2004, 2008, and 2014.
• Hailing from the Sahu caste (Teli), Vishnu Sai is widely recognized as a senior tribal leader in Chhattisgarh.
• Sai's selection wasn't an abrupt decision but rather an expected one.
• Home Minister Amit Shah had previously pledged to make Sai a significant figure ("bada aadmi") if the BJP secured victory in the state, affirming the party's aim to maintain the tribal vote in Chhattisgarh and neighboring states ahead of the Lok Sabha 2024 elections, where Chhattisgarh sends 11 MPs to the Parliament.