Kiran Singh Deo.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday (January 17, 2025) announced that its current Chhattisgarh unit president Kiran Singh Deo will continue to lead the party in the State for a full term of three years. 

Mr. Deo’s appointment was announced by the party’s national general secretary Vinod Tawde, at an event at Kushabhau Thakre Parisar, the BJP’s State headquarters. Earlier on Thursday (January 16, 2025), the three forms received for a poll for the party State president had only his name, meaning that he was elected unopposed.

In December 2023, the party had sprung a surprise by picking the 63-year-old Mr. Deo – a first time MLA and a non-tribal face from Bastar region – as the State president after its then president Arun Sao was inducted in the Cabinet as Deputy Chief Minister.

However, in recent months there was a strong buzz about him being inducted in the State Cabinet as a Minister, paving a way for someone else. The recent change of some district presidents had also signalled the same. Sources claimed that many senior leaders, those who either lost the 2023 Assembly elections or were not inducted in Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai’s Cabinet, were also aspirants for the top post.

There were also speculations about the party going for an Other Backward Class leader since CM Vishnu Deo Sai is from the tribal community. But the party top leadership decided to continue with Mr. Deo, who being a Kshatriya is from the General Caste, for the post. This is due to his relatively younger age, fulfilling the Bastar criterion [the CM is from the Sarguja region and the two deputy CMs from the central plains] despite being a non-tribal, and his smooth equation with the government in the past one year, party sources said.

Under him the party won the Lok Sabha elections and the local bodies’ polls are also around the corner (date not announced). However, from an organisational point of view, such results or schedules concern the State General Secretary (Organisation) rather than the president, said those in the know.

After his name was announced, Mr. Deo thanked the party leadership and its members for entrusting him, a worker from the Bastar region, with this responsibility once again. He also appealed to party workers to unite for the upcoming local body polls.

Mr. Deo, who represents the Jagdalpur Constituency in the State Assembly, has been associated with the BJP for over 25 years. Having cut his teeth in student politics, Mr. Deo has held several organisational responsibilities on the way besides being the Mayor of Jagdalpur Municipal Corporation.