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Who is Bhupesh Baghel?
Dr. Bhupesh Baghel is an Indian politician who was born on August 23, 1961, and is the third and current Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. He is a member of the Indian National Congress (INC). In the 1980s, he began his political career with the Youth Congress. He served as the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee's president. He has represented Patan in the Indian Legislative Assembly five times.
Today, Bhupesh Baghel is a well-known leader in India’s political landscape. He has ushered in many important changes in the Chhattisgarh state after he was made Chief Minister by the Congress party. He brings a vast political experience where he has advocated for many social and political causes. He is said to have shown an eager interest in social issues right from his student days and throughout his eventful journey to the top political arena.
Baghel is said to have earned over 69 out of 90 assembly seats, which is said to be a historical record, through his hardwork and dedication to the state’s welfare. While being the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, he likewise became well-known for his government welfare schemes. It’s under his regime that slogans like Garhbo Nava Chhattisgarh and Narva Garva Ghurva Bari Yojana were raised.
Personal life and Education
Bhupesh Baghel was born in a Manwa Kurmi Kshatriya family of Durg on 23 August 1961. Nand Kumar Baghel and Bindeshwari Baghel are his parents. He was born into a farming family, and his father gave him the strength to work hard and make the right decisions since his childhood.
Bhupesh Baghel went to H.S.School Marar Patan Durg for higher optional education. He went on to earn his graduation and post-graduation degrees from Raipur's PT. Ravishankar Shukla University.
He has a son as well as three daughters and is married to Mukteshwari Baghel. The Chhattisgarh Manwa Kurmi Kshatriya Samaj is patron of him.
Political Career
Bhupesh Baghel began his political life with Indian Youth Congress enrolling as its member in 1985, and his first success came when won the election to the Legislative Assembly of Madhya Pradesh from Patan constituency in 1993. In 1998, he was reelected from the same constituency as a Member of the Legislative Assembly.
He headed the District Youth Congress Committee Durg (Rural) from 1990 to 1994. He was also the Director of Madhya Pradesh Housing Board from 1993 to 2001.
Baghel was a cabinet minister in unified Madhya Pradesh in the Digvijay Singh government towards the end of the 1990s. He served as Chhattisgarh's Minister of Revenue, Public Health Engineering, and Relief Works.
He was appointed Minister, Revenue Rehabilitation, Relief Works, and Public Health Engineering under the Chhattisgarh Administration after the state of Chhattisgarh was established in November 2000. He became a member of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly. From the same seat, he won a second term as an MLA in the state elections in 2003. In the 2008 elections, he lost his seat in the Patan assembly. And again, he lost the Raipur parliamentary election in 2009 as well.
In the elections of 2013, he won the Patan assembly seat once more and was elected to the working committee of the Chhattisgarh assembly. He joined the Government of Chhattisgarh's Public Accounts Committee from 2014 to 2015 as a member.
President of Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee
From October 2014 to June 2019, Bhupesh Baghel served as the Indian National Congress' state unit president. Baghel had a significant impact on the party's revival in the state.
After the Antagarh Assembly by-election audio tape scandal, he was able to separate the Congress party from former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi and his son Amit Jogi. Under his chairmanship, Chhattisgarh Congress won the 2018 Chhattisgarh Assembly elections with a great majority.
Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh
After 15 years of leading the opposition in the Chhattisgarh state assembly, Baghel won the election to become the MLA for the Patan assembly seat and defeated Raman Singh of the BJP to become the state's chief minister. He took oath as Chief Minister on 17 December 2018. Mohan Markam, a Kondagaon MLA, was appointed PCC president in his place in June 2019.
Major Achievements
Narva, Garuva, Ghuruva, Bari
Bhupesh Baghel was the architect of this scheme. The target of this scheme is to restore the agricultural economy by establishing harmony between the modern world and traditional customs. The plan has been launched for water conservation, livestock conservation and development, utilization of organic manure through family waste and development of products of the soil in backyard for own consumption and acquiring extra income.
Rural Development, the Water Resources Development Department, and the Forest Department are taking on projects related to Narva (drains and rivers). As of February 2021, around 30,000 Narvas have been recognized and development of around 5,000 Narvas has been finished. Starting not long ago, 2,200 Gothans have been developed in towns under the Garva (Livestock) Venture.
Women in self-help groups in Gothan have produced approximately 6 lakh quintals of vermi compost as part of the Ghuruva (compost) project. The state government has paid Gothan committees and self-help groups a dividend of Rs 6 crore and 72 lakh in total. Under the Bari program, seeds and plants for vegetables are also being distributed simultaneously.
Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana
In the Chhattisgarh government's state budget, the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana was launched on May 21, the day that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had died, with a budget of Rs 5700 crore for farmers' welfare.
On May 21, 2021, farmers received Rs 1500 crore as part of this scheme to help them for the Kharif season. The sum as information sponsorship was moved directly into the bank balances of 22 lakh farmers of the state. Farmers who plant trees in their fields for natural security will be provided every year input subsidy of Rs. Rs 10,000 for the next three years. The Chief Minister stated that the state government has also given farmers with additional loans worth Rs 11,000 crore over the past two years in addition to waiving agricultural loans.
Godhan Nyay Yojana
On July 21, 2020, to promote organic farming, create new rural and urban employment opportunities, encourage cow rearing and conservation, and provide cattle farmers with financial benefits, the Baghel-led Chhattisgarh government launched the Godhan Nyay Yojana.
The scheme mentions that the government buys cow dung for Rs 2 per kilogram from farmers and cattle herders. Women's self-help groups turn cow dung into vermicompost and other products after it is purchased, which is then sold to farmers as organic fertiliser at a price of 10 cents per kilogram. This scheme aims to reduce the chemical waste.
Other Achievements
• Swami Atmanand English Medium School- This was initiated on 3 July 2020. 52 new schools were opened in various cities in that same year. The concept behind this scheme is to find such educational organizations in Chhattisgarh, which are cost-effective for economically challenged parents and offer superior facilities as compared to private schools.
• Padhai Tunhar Dwar - The target of this plan was to finish the incomplete syllabus of different classes in lockdown during the Coronavirus pandemic. In rural areas, curriculum completion is accomplished through online courses.
• Mahtari Dular Yojana- In May 2021, the Chhattisgarh state government launched the "Mahtari Dular Yojana." It was reported to give help to children orphaned by Coronavirus under this Yojana.
• Tribal Rights- Bhupesh Baghel, the Chief Minister, made the decision to give back 4400 acres of land to 1707 tribal families shortly after taking office. According to Section 101 of the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act of 2013, the "Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency," the land was immediately returned to the owners or their legal heirs.
Controversy
Just eight weeks before the 2018 assembly polls in Chhattisgarh, a charge sheet was filed against the then Congress state chief Bhupesh Baghel by CBI in a sex CD case. Baghel did not seek bail and went to jail. He said it was an attempt to frame him. But the case failed to affect his political career and he went on to become the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. The case is still being pursued in the Supreme Court.
Net Worth
Net Worth- Rs 22.47 cr
Assets- Rs 23.05 cr
Liabilities- Rs 58.33 Lakhs.