NEW DELHI: As many as 35 Chhattisgarh Congress MLAs — most of them close to chief minister Bhupesh Baghel — have flocked to Delhi and more are expected to arrive in an apparent show of strength amid murmurs of leadership churn in the state.
The MLAs had started arriving in the national capital earlier this week as speculation over a possible leadership change gained momentum.
Brihaspat Singh, who is known to be close to Baghel and has been camping in Delhi, said that 35 MLAs are presently in Delhi and more are expected to arrive by Sunday.
The development also comes in the backdrop of Congress naming Baghel as the senior observer for Uttar Pradesh elections.

Responding to the decision, the MLAs in Delhi said the additional responsibility doesn’t portend that Baghel will be removed as the Chhattisgarh CM.
“Those who can work are given work. Baghel has done it in the past. There is no way he is leaving the post,” Brihaspat Singh was quoted as saying by ANI.
Echoing similar sentiments, MLA Prakash Naik said that Baghel was similarly given Assam’s responsibility before, adding that he will continue to be chief minister of Chhattisgarh.
The show of strength in the national capital comes amid speculation that Baghel’s rival TS Singh Deo is renewing his push for a rotational tenure in the state.
Deo’s camp had claimed that the high command in 2018 agreed to hand over the post to him after the government completed half its term.
While the visit of the MLAs is seen as a show of support for Baghel, the legislators have said they are in Delhi to meet Chhattisgarh Congress in charge PL Punia.
“We are here to meet AICC in charge of Chhattisgarh PL Punia and waiting for him. We want to convey that Rahul Gandhi should extend the duration of his proposed tour to the state so that all MLAs can benefit from it,” Brihaspat Singh had said earlier.
He had also reiterated there was no question of a change at the top in the state and the Baghel-led government would complete its full term.
‘Chhattisgarh won’t become Punjab’
The flurry of developments in Chhattisgarh are running parallelly to the leadership crisis unfolding in Punjab, where Amarinder Singh recently resigned as the chief minister.
Rejecting the likelihood of meeting a similar fate, CM Baghel on Saturday asserted that Chhattisgarh can never become Punjab.

He said the two states bear only one similarity — that of having numbers in their names.
“Punjab is land of punj (five) aab (water). It is made up of five rivers. Similarly Chhattisgarh has derived its name from ‘chhattis’ (thirty six) ‘garh’ (fort). No other states have numbers in their names. There is no other similarity between the two states,” he said.
When asked on Saturday about the MLAs’ trip to Delhi, Baghel said there is no ban on the legislators from going somewhere and they are independent.
“It is not a political movement. You ask if it is a political movement. They will visit and return,” he added
Health minister T S Singh Deo, who is apparently seeking to replace Baghel, too, played down the visit and said it should not be made an issue.
About the possible leadership change, Singh Deo had reiterated that the decision is reserved with the party high command.
(With inputs from agencies)