Chhattisgarh CM, state Cong chief among 300 delegates cast vote for AICC presidential polls

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and state Congress head Mohan Markam were among the party leaders who cast their votes on Monday for electing the next president of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). Senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor are in the fray for the post of the AICC chief. Voting was underway from 10 am at the state Congress office 'Rajiv Bhawan' in Raipur and will conclude at 4 pm.

Out of the total 307 Pradesh Congress Congress delegates eligible to cast their votes, 210 have so far exercised their franchise, Chhattisgarh party unit's communication wing head Sushil Anand Shukla said.

Besides CM Baghel, state Congress head Markam, the others who have voted so far include cabinet ministers Ravindra Choubey and Tamradhwaj Sahu, and MLAs Dhanendra Sahu and Satyanarayan Sharma, he said.

Talking to reporters after casting his vote, Baghel said there is an internal democracy in the Congress, but in the BJP, only ''two persons'' elect president of the party. The CM did not take any name.

“When J P Nadda was re-elected as the BJP president, nobody knew about it (the election process). But in the Congress, a democratic process is being followed and an election is taking place for the post of the party chief,'' Baghel added.