By Neeraj Mishra
The Congress in Chhattisgarh is on a downward slide ever because it misplaced the Meeting elections three months in the past. It has solely caught extra steam with a slew of latest developments. The foremost, after all, is the FIR towards former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel within the Mahadev App case.
A betting app, Mahadev App had come into the information about eight months in the past on the eve of state elections. The individuals behind this App, Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, at the moment are based mostly out of Dubai and had been working the satta racket which allegedly produced Rs 5000 crore in two years. They’re accused by the Enforcement Directorate of constructing pretend PayTm and different digital accounts in hundreds of names and transferring cash to Dubai through hawala. Mahadev App got here into prominence when Chandrakar spent a whopping Rs 200 crore on his wedding ceremony celebrations in Dubai inviting the who’s who of Bollywood from Ranbir Kapoor to Jacqueline Fernandes.
That being the background, developments through the Meeting elections revealed that some Rs 500 crore had been given to Baghel as repay. The ED had subsequently registered an FIR with the state Financial Offences Wing (EOW) to analyze the case based mostly on info provided by it towards two dozen accused. Subsequently, the EOW carried out raids on the premises of a number of accused named together with former chief secretary Vivek Dhand. Now, Baghel has additionally been named within the FIR allegedly filed on March 4 however particulars have been revealed on March 17. Sarcastically, the FIR was filed below the cost of DM Awasthi, former DGP of Chhattisgarh Police, residing on extension granted by Baghel and given cost of EOW.
Sarcastically, after Awasthi delivered on all of the above—submitting of FIR, raiding officers and different accused and together with Baghel’s identify charged below six sections—he was right now relieved of his cost. IG Raipur Amresh Mishra has now taken over EOW. Awasthi on a 12 months’s extension has not but resigned.
As Baghel prepares to combat a dropping battle in Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha seat, he’s now below large stress. Extra stress was positioned on him right now by his personal partyman former PCC common secretary Arun Sisodiya, who has accused two of his closest aides of siphoning occasion funds. In a letter to PCC president Deepak Baij, Sisodiya accused occasion treasurer Ramgopal Agarwal of giving Rs 5.89 crore to Vinod Verma’s son with out due course of and correct sanction. Verma was Baghel’s political advisor and brother-in-law. Sisodiya says Verma’s son runs Tesu Media Restricted, Ghaziabad and was paid the cash by Agarwal with out the sanction from then PCC president Mohan Markam. Tesu Media had run a part of the election marketing campaign for the Congress through the Meeting elections.
A number of Congressmen, together with grassroots staff, at the moment are making a beeline for the BJP. Saroj Pandey, former Rajya Sabha member, who’s now contesting from the Korba seat lately inducted a few hundred Congress staff in her new constituency. Sakti is a part of her constituency and right now, the son of former Sakti Congress MLA Surendra Bahadur joined the BJP.
The Congress has not but been in a position to announce candidates for six of the 11 Lok Sabha constituencies. Chhattisgarh will vote in three phases between April 27 and Could 7.