Bhupesh Baghel

Ten days after winning the Kerala elections, the Congress party is yet to announce its Chief Minister amid a three-way contest between senior leaders KC Venugopal, Ramesh Chennithala, and VD Satheesan for the post.

In a significant political development, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has appointed Bihar Minister Nitin Naveen as its National Working President. The 45-year-old leader took charge in Delhi, receiving a grand welcome from Home Minister Amit Shah and Party Chief JP Nadda. The report highlights Naveen’s steady rise from student politics in the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) to the Bihar Cabinet, noting his key role in the party's 2024 Chhattisgarh victory. While the BJP frames this as a generational shift, the Congress has questioned the 'lack of process' and transparency in the appointment. The bulletin explores the strategic timing ahead of crucial state elections.

This special report covers the Congress party's allegations against the Election Commission of India following a significant defeat in Bihar. Congress leader and Member of Parliament Bhupesh Baghel has accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of facilitating a victory for the BJP. The report highlights Baghel's claim that '65 lakh votes were deleted by the CEC and that's why this kind of a mandate has come through'. The programme notes that the Congress contested 61 seats and was leading in only one, suggesting the scale of the loss which prompted the party to blame the electoral body for the outcome.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Chaitanya Baghel, the son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, in connection with an alleged multi-crore liquor scam.

Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel alleges unauthorised CBI raids at his residence in his absence. He claims the BJP is orchestrating a conspiracy through the CBI. Baghel states he was not informed about the Raipur house search and accuses the CBI of unauthorised entry. He suggests the raids are politically motivated, linking them to the Prime Minister's upcoming visit on the 30th.

The CBI raided former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's residences in Raipur and Bhilai in connection with the Mahadev betting app scam.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting raids at former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's residences in Bhilai and Raipur. The raids are also targeting Baghel's close aide and a senior IPS officer's premises. This action follows the CBI filing a revision petition in the CD scandal case, with a hearing scheduled for April 4th. Previously, the Enforcement Directorate had recovered over 33 lakh in cash during searches at premises linked to Baghel's son, Chaitanya Baghel.

The Enforcement Directorate is conducting raids at 15 locations in Chhattisgarh, including premises linked to former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's son Chaitanya Baghel. The raids are in connection with an alleged Rs 2,100 crore liquor scam.

Get ready for the 2024 Lok Sabha Phase-2. Watch Rahul Gandhi, Hema Malini, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Bhupesh Baghel, and Shashi Tharoor defend their turf in key battleground constituencies.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will contest the Lok Sabha polls from Kerala's Wayanad once again as the party announced its first list of 39 candidates on Friday.

Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday alleged the Enforcement Directorate mentioned his name in its supplementary charge sheet in the Mahadev betting app case as part of a "political conspiracy" at the behest of its "political masters". "The way the ED has mentioned my name in its supplementary charge sheet is completely part of a political conspiracy. The ED, at the behest of its political masters, has been fraudulently arresting people and pressuring them to give statements against me and my associates. The allegations of money transactions made in these statements are baseless," Baghel wrote on 'X'. The Congress leader also alleged the probe agency has been fraudulently arresting people and pressuring them to give statements against him and his associates. The ED in its second prosecution complaint (chargesheet) filed before a special court in Raipur on January 1 stated that alleged courier Asim Das, arrested in the Mahadev betting app case, who claimed he had been sent to "deliver" cash to Bhupesh Baghel, has retracted his denial of having made the charges.

In the wake of the heartland election results, the suspense continues to build over who the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) will appoint as their new Chief Ministers in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. Amid suspense over whom the BJP will pick for the chief minister's post in Rajasthan, a visit by five BJP MLAs to a resort on the outskirts of the city created a buzz. Chhattisgarh's outgoing chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and Congress' state unit president Deepak Baij will leave for Delhi on Thursday to attend a meeting of their party scheduled to be held there on December 8 to review the outcome of the just-concluded assembly polls in five states, a party functionary said. The Congress on Thursday took a swipe at the BJP over it not announcing the chief ministers in the three states it won in the recent assembly polls and asked why the party was not being called out for "what is actually a delay". In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said less than 24 hours after the election results were out on December 3, his party was being criticised in the media by all and sundry for a "so-called delay" in appointing a chief minister for Telangana.  In this programme, Senior Executive Editor Shiv Aroor aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the situation, discussing key players in the race and potential reasons for BJP's apparent hesitation in naming their new CMs.

BJP leader and Union minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday also said that the Congress-led government in Chhattisgarh failed to keep their promises during their tenure.

Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are voting today for assembly polls that could influence the political landscape ahead of next year's general elections. In Madhya Pradesh, a single-phase election is underway for all 230 assembly seats, with a significant number of candidates exceeding 2,000 people vying for positions in the state legislature. The incumbent Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, is contesting these elections alongside Kamal Nath, the leader of the state Congress party. The outcome of today's polls is anticipated to have substantial implications for both parties. Chhattisgarh is currently in its second phase of polling, with 70 assembly seats up for election across 19 districts. A total of 958 candidates, including 827 men, 130 women, and one transgender individual, are competing in this phase. Notably, the Patan constituency is observing a three-way contest between the ruling Congress party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J). In this high-profile constituency, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel of the Congress party is contending against his nephew Vijay Baghel from the BJP. Adding to the political rivalry, Amit Jogi, son of the former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi and leader of the Janata Congress Chhattisgarh, is also in the race. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hit out at Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel over the Mahadev betting app scandal. 

A big political tandav has erupted in Chhattisgarh over the Mahadev betting app. This after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) claimed it recorded the statement of a 'cash courier' who alleged Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel received Rs 508 crore from the Mahadev app promoters based in the UAE.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday hit out at Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and also claimed that the BJP would emerge victorious in all the upcoming state polls this year.

Minister of State for Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday took a dig at Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel after he was accused of being involved in the Mahadev betting app scam. He said that Baghel had the power to notify the Centre about it, but he did not do it. "They are thanking us now because that is their new strategy... this is what they did when we exposed the 2G scam and the Augusta Westland scam. Now they are caught in this too after the scam went on for 1.5 years. CM Bhupesh Baghel did not alert us about the app though it went on for 1.5 years. Several other states and individuals sent us these alerts, and we have blocked these apps based on these alerts. I don’t understand why the case was dragged for 1.5 years. It is very easy to point out a betting app. Only Bhupesh Baghel can tell us why he did not send a notification about this app running for the past 1.5 years," Chandrashekhar said in an exclusive conversation with India Today.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has rebuffed the allegations made by Shubham Soni, a key accused in the Mahadev betting app case. Soni claimed that Baghel had encouraged him to establish his gambling business in Dubai and that he had sought Baghel's assistance following the arrest of his associates in Bhilai. Baghel responded by accusing the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to tarnish his reputation.

The Mahadev app scandal has exploded with more self-confessions. The alleged mastermind confessed to bribery links in Dubai that could affect Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's government just before the upcoming elections in Chhattisgarh. The app owner claimed that Rs 508 crore was allegedly paid to the Chief Minister in this scandal, where celebrities were involved for promotion.  The Centre on Sunday imposed blocking orders against 22 illegal betting apps and websites, including well-known platforms like Mahadev Book and Reddyannaprestopro. The IT Ministry issued the restrictions amid an ongoing probe into an illegal betting app syndicate led by the Enforcement Directorate into the Mahadev betting app case.