Following days of speculation and anticipation, the BJP has officially declared former Union Minister Vishnu Deo Sai as the new Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh.
He will be the first tribal to head the state.
Sai is considered one of the most senior tribal politicians in Chhattisgarh. A former Union Minister and four-time Lok Sabha MP, the 59-year-old has also served as a two-time MLA in undivided Madhya Pradesh.
Sai, who belongs to the Kanwar tribe, the second largest tribal community after Gond in Chhattisgarh.
In 2006, he was appointed as the state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Chhattisgarh.
Sai also served as a minister in the first cabinet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
