“Not just country, even their own have lost faith in Congress”: Chhattisgarh CM Sai

Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], May 5 (ANI): Coming down heavily on the Congress, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Sunday said people not just across the country but within the party have lost faith in them.

Confident that the BJP was winning all 11 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, CM Sai said, “The Congress has lost the faith of not only the country and its people but also its own leaders and cadre. There is an unending sequence of exodus in the Congress. In Chhattisgarh, too, thousands of Congress workers have joined the BJP. Now no matter what they do, people are not going to put their trust in them anymore. Even though they have announced a ‘Nari Nyay Yojana’, as part of which they have promised to give Rs 1 lakh to women (annually), no one will believe them.”

“Sensing the public response on the campaign trail, I can say with absolute confidence that the BJP will win all 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh. Delegates from four countries visited the state recently and got a ringside view of how elections are held here,” the CM added.

Ahead of the first phase of polling in the state on May 7, the CM said, “From March 20 till May 4, we have conducted 64 big campaigns and will conduct two more today. In the last 45 days, I have had the opportunity to meet people more than 106 times. PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and other senior leaders visited the state for campaigning and highlighted the achievements of the central government over the last 10 years, as well as those in the three months of our government,” he added.

Accusing the leaders in the INDIA bloc of crossing all limits when it comes to using foul and indecorous language on the campaign trail, he claimed the Congress failed to implement its housing scheme when in power and pay bonuses to farmers.

Underscoring the state’s recent procurement of 21 quintal paddy from farmers, as the BJP promised ahead of last year’s assembly elections, he also spoke highly of the government’s ‘Mahtari Vandana Yojana’ and ‘Ram Lalla Darshan Yojana’.

“The government has ordered the procurement of standard tendu leaves at Rs 4000 (per sack) in the tribal-dominated Bastar and Surguja divisions. The CBI has started an investigation into the irregularities in the (state) PSC,” he said.

Reaffirming the commitment of the state government to making India a developed nation by 2047, he also listed out the benefits of the Centre’s flagship ‘Ayushman Bharat’ healthcare scheme.

Sai urged the active participation of the people in the elections in the interest of empowering the country and bringing Prime Minister Narendra Modi back for a third, straight term in office.

Polling for 2 of the 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh was conducted in the first two phases of the ongoing general elections. While voters in Bastar, which was considered a Naxal stronghold until recently, exercised their franchise on April 19; polling for Rajnandgaon, Mahasamund, and Kanker was held in Phase 2 on April 26.

The third phase of polling in the state will cover Raipur, Durg, Bilaspur, Surguja, Raigarh, Jangir-Champa and Korba.

In 2019, the BJP nearly mopped up all the poll sweepstakes in the state, winning 9 of the 11 seats; while the Congress’ tally dropped to just 2.