BJP achieves power by playing with sentiments: Chhattisgarh's Deputy CM

Congress leader and Chhattisgarh's Deputy Chief Minister T S Singh Deo has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of acquiring power by playing with the sentiments of people.

"They (BJP) have come to power mostly by playing with sentiments and getting dependent on them, while performance and talent are lagging," he said while reacting to the BJP's decision to give a ticket to Ishwar Sahu (father of Bhuneshwar Sahu, who was killed in Bemetara's Biranpur village allegedly in a clash between two communities) from the Saja assembly constituency.

The Deputy CM said this while speaking exclusively with ANI in Raipur on Monday.

He also took a dig at the BJP for releasing a second list of its candidates during the ongoing 'Pitru Paksha' (the time when people avoid starting new work). He further said that the list of Congress's candidates will be released after 'Pitru Paksha'.

Singh Deo further said, "In my political career of 40-50 years, I have never seen the saffron party field MPs and central ministers in the state's elections. This practice is being seen for the first time, and the move is an indication that the BJP in these states (going for elections) does not have confidence in the talent pool of the state unit. The first thing that came to mind when looking at this move was that they are weak at the state level."

Commenting on the BJP giving tickets to those who faced defeat in the last elections, the Deputy CM said that "lack of talent could be a probable reason for this, otherwise, the BJP is known for introducing new faces, be it in Delhi or somewhere else."

The Election Commission of India on Monday announced the elections for the five states.

The Elections will be held in Mizoram on November 7, Chhattisgarh on November 7 and November 17, Madhya Pradesh on November 17, Rajasthan on November 23 and Telangana on November 30. The counting of votes will take place on December 3 in all the states.