Congress Nominates Rajendra Sahu From Durg Constituency

Congress has nominated Rajendra Sahu, who was recently acquitted by a court in connection with a 2009 case, from the Durg constituency for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The former president of Durg District Cooperative Bank, Mr Rajendra Sahu is considered one of the close aides of the former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel.

Earlier, Mr Sahu had contested assembly elections from Durg on a ticket given by the regional party Swabhiman Manch, a dissolution from the BJP. He has also contested Mayoral elections from Swabhiman Manch. After he joined the Congress in 2017, the party believed Mr Sahu could draw the Sahu community’s votes by providing a ticket to Rajendra Sahu from Durg.

Recently, in an interview, Mr Sahu said that there is anger and dissatisfaction among the people against the BJP-led central government, and expressed his hope that people will trust the grand old party this time.

Durg constituency has been one of the tightly contested Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh. After it lost in 2009 by a narrow margin, the Congress party’s Tamradhwaj Sahu won the 2014 general elections. However, during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP’s Vijay Baghel wrested the seat, securing more than three Lakh majority. The saffron party has fielded the sitting MP Vijay Baghel again from the constituency for the 2024 general elections.

Earlier, there were discussions regarding Mr Bhupesh Baghel contesting from Durg. The former chief minister is the uncle of the BJP candidate Vijay Baghel who had suffered a defeat when he contested against his uncle in Patan during the recent assembly elections. With the Congress picking Mr Sahu for Durg, the party hopes to woo the votes of the significant Sahu community in the constituency. After the Congress announced the ticket for Mr Sahu, he thanked the high command saying that nominating small workers like him can bolster and enhance the confidence of his fellow members.