Senior tribal leader Nandkumar Sai returns to BJP’s fold 8 months after resigning and joining Congress

Raipur Senior tribal leader and former union minister Nandkumar Sai, who had shifted his loyalty from BJP to Congress around 8 months ago and was appointed as the chairman of the CSIDC by the Congress government in Chhattisgarh, resigned from the party on Wednesday. Congress faced defeat in the Assembly elections of 2023, and it is said that after this defeat, Sai decided to leave the party. When he joined Congress, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel was seen with Sai in several programs. He was given the position of chairman at CSIDC. Now, it is reported that Sai is in contact with BJP leaders. There is talk that Chief Minister Vishnudeo Sai has met Sai. Sai’s resignation was said to be unexpected for Congress leaders. Nand Kumar Sai was hopeful of getting a ticket from Congress in the elections but didn’t get the opportunity. On May 1, 2023, Nandkumar Sai resigned from BJP. In his resignation letter, he wrote – false allegations are being made against me. My dignity is constantly being tarnished, and I feel hurt. Urging to accept his resignation, he said that after much thought, he had resigned from all positions and primary membership of the BJP. He was a member of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 1977, then in 1985 and 1998. In 2000, he became a member of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly and served as the opposition leader. Sai has also been a Lok Sabha MP in 1989, 1996, and 2004. Additionally, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2009 and 2010. Nand Kumar Sai can be seen plowing his fields and sowing seeds in his home village of Bhagora. He argues that due to being associated with farming since childhood, he is still a farmer today. He was also the BJP’s state president in undivided Madhya Pradesh. During the Congress government, he was the opposition leader in the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly. Sai has been a legislator four times—three times as a member of the Lok Sabha and twice as a Rajya Sabha MP. He leads a very simple life. If necessary to travel by flight, he chooses economy class. He believes that the money of the parliament comes from people’s taxes, and it should be spent after careful consideration. Nandkumar Sai was born into a farmer’s family on January 1, 1946. He prepared for government jobs and was selected as a Naib Tehsildar in 1973 but did not take up the job. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure, Nandkumar Sai was appointed as the National President of the National Scheduled Tribes Commission in 2017. In May 2023, he left BJP and joined Congress.