Amid a slew of claimants, Rahul Gandhi hints at end to Chhattisgarh CM race

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hinted at the end of tussle for the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, tweeting a picture of himself flanked by all the four claimants to the post.

Posting pictures of the four contenders in the race for the CM post-- Bhupesh Baghel, T.S. Singh Deo, Tamradhwaj Sahu and Charan Das Mahant -- Gandhi quoted American internet entrepreneur Reid Hoffman saying: "No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you're playing a solo game, you'll always lose out to a team."

The party is likely to announce the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister in the evening. Baghel, the state party chief, is said to be the frontrunner in the race.

Gandhi's tweet follows his hectic parleys with Chhattisgarh leaders, along with UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, party's observer for Chhattisgarh, and P L Punia, who is in-charge in the state.

The Congress President had earlier tweeted similar pictures of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister-designate Kamal Nath and his rival claimant to the post-Jyotiraditya Scindia as well as Rajasthan Chief Minister-designate Ashok Gehlot and his state party chief Sachin Pilot who has been named as the Deputy Chief Minister.

Before the announcements of Kamal Nath and Gehlot as the respective Chief Ministers, there had been power jockeying between the rival camps, with both Scindia and Pilot strongly advocating their stake to the post.