C'garh CM: Rahul continues parleys at Tughlaq Lane home

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi held hectic parleys with top party leaders on Saturday to decide on the top post for Chhattisgarh. Sources said that Gandhi met Chhattisgarh's four potential CM candidates — T S Singh Deo, Tamradhwaj Sahu, Bhupesh Baghel and Charan Das Mahant — at his Tughlaq Lane residence.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi tweeted a picture of himself flanked by all the four claimants to the post, hinting at the end of the tussle over who would be the next Chhattisgarh CM. This was the third round of discussions the Congress chief held before selecting the CM, where the party romped home to power after 15 years with a two-thirds majority.

Congress' Central Observer Mallikarjun Kharge and AICC In-Charge for Party Affairs in Chhattisgarh P L Punia were present at the meeting.

Sources said that UPA chair Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too were present at the Congress chief's residence. Reliable sources said that the leadership issue has been sorted out and Bhupesh Baghel, who played a crucial role in the Congress landslide victory in Chhattisgarh, has been picked as CM.

His name would be formally announced at a meeting of newly elected MLAs in Raipur on Sunday, they added. The sources dismissed reports that Tamradhwaj Sahu had threatened to quit the party if he was not made CM. The sources also indicated that unlike Rajasthan, there would be no deputy CM.