As Congress inches closer to victory in the Chhattisgarh Assembly election, state Congress president Bhupesh Baghel at a press conference on Tuesday stated that the mandate reflects the victory of democracy.
"This is a victory of democracy. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had a lot of money and a team of corrupt officers, they also had conspirators in their pocket. Despite all of this, the mandate given by the people in Chhattisgarh is historic," Baghel added.
Accepting the mandate, Congress in-charge of the state PL Punia said, "They have not given us the right, they have given us a responsibility. They believed the promises we made in our manifesto. People trusted the words of Rahul Gandhi and gave us an agenda, we accept it."
Punia further said that the people of the state are smart as they did not fall for BJP's ploy of using Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) of eating into the Congress vote bank. Voters wanted a change, he added.
He assured that all the promises made in the manifesto will be fulfilled in the given time after Congress forms the government in the state.
Addressing speculations around the chief ministerial candidate, Punia clarified that the Congress will democratically elect the candidate. "The elected party members will sit together and decide the name for the next Chief Minister of the state," emphasised the Congress in-charge of the state.
Appreciating the efforts of the party members, Punia said that they worked in full unity to oust Raman Singh-led BJP government in the state.
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Taking a dig at the outgoing Chief Minister, Punia said that Raman Singh had no other choice than resigning and taking responsibility for it.
Talking about former Congress leader and founder of Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (JCC) Ajit Jogi, Punia stated that Congress has shut all doors to the leader.