Amid talk that the Aam Aadmi Party tried to contact disgruntled leaders of the ruling Congress and opposition BJP in Chhattisgarh, state Health Minister T S Singh Deo said it is difficult for him to think beyond the grand old party as five generations of his family have been associated with it. During an informal interaction with media persons at Raipur Press Club here on Saturday, Singh Deo did not deny that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party had contacted him.

“I haven’t met Arvind Kejriwal ji. But it is also true that in politics, a lot of people remain in contact and they also make contact. It is not like people would not have contacted me. But I told them that five generations of my family were associated with the Congress and I cannot even think beyond it. I have a lot of respect for Sonia Ji and Rahul,” Singh Deo said.

“I will also never join the BJP. I don’t want to be in such politics. A party with which I have ideological differences, I cannot work there as a public representative,” he added.

The Congress government in Chhattisgarh had seen strife last year amid speculation of leadership change centered on a reported “power sharing formula” under which Bhupesh Baghel and Singh Deo were supposed to share the CM’s tenure.

Baghel had gone on to become CM when the Congress unseated the BJP in the 2018 Assembly polls, though some sections of the party have routinely claimed that, as per the agreement at the time, Singh Deo was supposed to get the top post after two-and-half years. PTI TKP BNM BNM