After Rajnandgaon loss, Raman faces RSS heat

Within days of BJP’s defeat in Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha bypoll, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh has turned the heat on Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh.

Within days of BJP’s defeat in Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha bypoll, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has turned the heat on Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh. Senior RSS leader and ideologue Madandas Devi has rushed to Raipur to check the further slide of BJP and make suggestions for a successful bid at the 2008 Assembly polls.

Devi held an extensive meeting with Raman Singh, attended by five other members of his Cabinet, during which the senior leader reportedly expressed his anger at the repeated poor performance of the party.

Congress candidate Devvrat Singh’s massive victory margin of nearly 52,000 votes over his BJP rival Leelaram Bhojwani was also presented as a cause for concern, with the government asked to make immediate amends to address the party’s slide in the state.

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Though the Chief Minister reportedly blamed Pradeep Gandhi, disqualified from Lok Sabha after his indictment in the cash-for-query scam, for the defeat, the RSS leader has expressed his dissatisfaction over the way the election was fought.

Sources said that Madandas Devi asked the CM why wasn’t the government prepared to put up a fight in the bypoll when it had sufficient time in its hands.

The sangh also advised members of Raman Singh’s Council of Ministers to improve its style of functioning as well as performance.

Sources stated that the RSS ideologue wanted the government to reach out to the grassroots and in an effort to implement RSS instructions.

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The sangh also asked the government to be prepared for the upcoming bypolls in Malkharoda, Khairagarh and Marwahi Assembly constituencies. “During the meeting Madandas Devi clearly instructed the chief minister and his Council of ministers that these bypolls should be treated as a preparation for next year’s Assembly polls, while adding that a victory now will also boost the morale of the party cadre. So these bypolls should not be taken lightly,” sources stated.

“If a Chief Minister is unable to help his party hold sway on his home turf, the central leadership should reflect on where the BJP stands in the state,” the RSS leader reportedly said.