C'garh polls: Satnami Samaj's Guru Baldas, son join Congress

With just a few days left for the first phase of the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state government received a major jolt as Satnami Samaj's Guru Baldas along with son, Khushwant Saheb and hundreds of supporters joined the Congress party.

The Satnami Samaj is a major vote bank for the political parties in Chhattisgarh, as they account for around 14 per cent to 16 per cent of total votes.

Guru Baldas' switch to the Congress comes after BJP president Amit Shah had recently visited the poll-bound state and met him, and had sought support from the religious community in the upcoming Assembly elections.

Explaining his decision to switch loyalties, the religious leader claimed that the BJP did not respect the people of the society and, therefore, he joined the Congress. He added that he would ask others to extend their support to the Congress in the coming days.

While the Congress has welcomed the move, the BJP, on the other hand, said that any religious leader joining the Congress would not have an effect on their vote bank.

With Guru Baldas' entry to the Congress, the party would be hoping to spring an upset in Chhattisgarh and win the crucial assembly polls.

Interestingly, the Congress already has a religious leader from the Satnami Samaj --- Rudra Guru.

In the Chhattisgarh Assembly polls, there are two phases of voting. In the first phase, voting will be held in 18 constituencies in the southern part of the state on November 12. The second phase of elections will be held on November 20.

Counting of votes for both the phases will take place on December 11.