Dr Raman Singh’s ascent to power came about almost by luck in the state’s maiden Assembly elections in 2003. While a number of other leaders were reluctant to take up the post of state BJP president, he accepted the challenge to take on the then ruling Congress led by Ajit Jogi and resigned as a minister of state in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee ministry.

Although BJP leader Dilip Singh Judeo was a strong contender for chief ministership after the polls, the responsibility fell on Singh, as Judeo was trapped in a ‘cash on camera’ scam in the run up to the polls, held for the first time after the state was carved out of Madhya Pradesh.

Once he became Chief Minister, Raman Singh soon built up a reputation as an upright politician — dubbed ‘Mr Clean’ by some — against whom even the Opposition could not level any allegations of corruption over the past five years. He also maintained a distance from intra-party bickering and developed a cordial relation with the Congress Government at the Centre. He also took care to keep the Congress in the state in good humour and did not adopt a confrontational approach with Opposition leaders, although there was criticism that he allowed the bureaucracy to gained dominance over a number of members in his council of ministers.

Nevertheless, Raman Singh did take a tough stance against Naxalism and, over the past three years, extended full support to the controversial anti-Naxalite movement Salwa Judum, openly showing solidarity with Congress veteran Mahendra Karma over the armed campaign led by villagers.

The fact that this worked in the BJP’s favour is clear with the poll results from Naxalite-infested Bastar region. The party also got a boost in its popularity with the 56-year-old leader’s food security scheme launched in January this year. The scheme earned him the nickname ‘Chawal Baba’ and provided 35 kg of rice at just Rs 3 per kg to 34 lakh families living below the poverty line. As he predicted, the scheme would become the party’s “lifeline” in the elections, especially since the rice actually reached the masses instead of being siphoned off by corrupt officials.

Born on October 15, 1952, at Thathapur village in Kawardha district, Singh has built up a reputation as “a fine human being” and capable politician. Associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) since childhood, he was elected as a corporator of the municipal council first and later became legislator twice in undivided Madhya Pradesh. He shot into the limelight when he defeated Congress heavyweight Motilal Vora from Rajnandgaon constituency in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections.

In October 1999, he was appointed as Union minister of state for commerce and industry in the Vajpayee government, a post he quit in order to take over as the BJP president in Chhattisgarh ahead of the December 2003 Assembly polls.

After leading the party to victory in the election this time around, Singh said: “I give credit to the people as they gave a positive vote for the BJP. It is the poor, who enabled us to retain power in the elections. We will continue to make efforts for their welfare and upliftment with more dedication.”