Gujarat results shocking but have to accept public mandate: Chhattisgarh CM Baghel

Raipur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday said the results of the Gujarat Assembly elections were shocking for the Congress.
While saying the Congress has to accept the people's mandate, he claimed that the vibes from the people during the party's campaign phase in the state were starkly different from what the eventual verdict turned out to be. Speaking to media persons at Raipur airport before leaving for Chandigarh on Thursday, Baghel said, "When we had visited Gujarat, the vibes from the people seemed positive and favourable for the Congress. However, we have to respect and accept the voters' mandate."

"Under Bhupendra Patel, who has been elected chief minister, the BJP won more than 150 seats, which is significantly more than what it won when (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi was CM. This is a surprising mandate," Baghel added.

On the meeting to be held in Chandigarh with the winning Congress MLAs from Himachal, Baghel said, "A meeting of the elected MLAs will be held and the party high command will be briefed about it. The chief minister will be declared on the instructions of the high command. The MLAs and the party high command will together take a decision on the CM.
On what tipped the scales in favour of the Congress after a see-saw battle for Himachal through the counting day, Baghel added, "The 10 guarantees of Priyanka Gandhi certainly had a big impact on the electoral outcome in Himachal Pradesh. The people of Himachal believed in the Congress even after the false claims made by the top leadership of the BJP." (ANI)