Former Home Minister Tamradhwaj: The Congress Candidate From Mahasamund (Photo on X Tamradhwaj Sahu)
Tamradhwaj Sahu, a Congress veteran and former Home Minister of Chhattisgarh has been nominated for Mahasamund Lok Sabha constituency. The 74-year-old was first elected to Lok Sabha in the 2014 general elections from the Durg Lok Sabha constituency. He won his Lok Sabha debut against the BJP”s Saroj Pandey. The veteran leader has also served as an MLA from 1998 to 2013 before foraying to Lok Sabha.
Born in 1949, the 12th-pass politician has been involved in several social activities such as state Sahu Sangh, and district Sahu Sangh among others. However, during the 2018 assembly elections, he returned to State politics, emerging victorious from Durg Gramin seat. The Congress had swept the 2018 assembly elections forming a government after 15 years in Chhattisgarh.
Mr Tamradhwaj Sahu was made the Home Minister in Bhupesh Baghel the Led Congress government till 2023. However, he suffered defeat against the BJP”s Lalit Chandrakar in the 2023 assembly elections from the Durg Gramin Assembly constituency. During the 2018 assembly elections, there were reports that Mr Sahu would be the front-runner to be the chief minister of Chattisgarh.
Mahasamund Lok Sabha Constituency is one of the tightly contested seats during all the previous elections. But the BJP has been retaining the seat since for more than a decade. Notably, during the 2014 election, the saffron party won by around a mere 1000-plus margin.
With the nomination of the veteran leader with significant political clout among predominant Sahu voters, the Congress party hope to win back the constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The BJ”s Roop Kumari Choudhary will contest against Mr Tamradhwaj Sahu.
In 2022, while serving as a home minister, Tamradhwaj Sahu faced controversy over his remark against the BJP Rajya Sabha MP Saroj Pandey after she slammed the minister for the conditions of the roads. The National Commission for Women (NCW) had issued a notice seeking an explanation and asking him to apologise for the comment he made against the BJP leader.
