'C'garh CM to be elected like Sita's swayamvar'

New Delhi: Like goddess Sita chose lord Ram, the Chief Minister's face of the Congress will be elected through 'swayamvar' after the Assembly elections, Chhattisgarh Leader of Opposition TS Singh Deo has said.

He said the Congress party, which has been out of power in the state for the past 15 years, will form the government in the state in the same way lord Ram ended 'vanvaas' (exile) after 14 long years.

In an interview with PTI, Singh Deo said his party was open to alliance with like-minded opposition parties to ensure that the coalition wins and the ruling BJP is out of the power.

To a question whether or not the Congress will project somebody as its chief ministerial candidate ahead of the polls due later this year, he made an analogy from Hindu epic Ramayana and said lord Ram did not get married

straight on.

"He had the Swayamvar. There are many good people in the party who have done very good work. So there will be Swayamvar after the polls' victory," the senior Congress leader said.

He said Raman Singh was not declared the chief ministerial candidate in 2003.

"Where was Yogi Adityanath face in UP election? They (BJP) did not have any face. They also did Swayamvar. Yahan bhi ho jayega (It will be here too)," Singh Deo said.

He said it is not like that people are not seeing who all are the Congress leaders.

"It is not like that it is a sort of hidden thing. There are many good leaders in Congress. A chief minister's face by itself is not guarantee for anything. In Himachal Pradesh, the BJP lost the seat of designated CM candidate," Singh Deo, heir of royal family of Sarguja, said.PTI