I would rather sit at home than join BJP: Chhattisgarh Health Min TS Singh Deo

Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singh Deo claimed on Wednesday that several parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, had contacted him and tried to convince him to switch over, but he does not intend to quit Congress.

He made the claim with the Assembly elections in the state are being just a few months away.

Locked in a power tussle with CM Baghel, Singh Deo had in July, of last year, resigned from the Panchayat and Rural Development Ministry, hinting that he was sidelined by the Baghel government. However, he continued to hold four other portfolios - Health and Family Welfare, Medical Education, Twenty Point Implementation and Commercial Tax (GST) departments.

Responding to a query by reporters whether the opposition BJP was running 'Operation Lotus' in the state and trying to convince him to join the force, Singh Deo confirmed that BJP leaders did contact him.

"It is not about 'Operation Lotus'. Every political party, which finds some scope, tries to take the initiative. But I will neither leave the Congress nor will I join any other party. Whatever responsibility the party gives me, I will carry out," Singh Deo said.

On Tuesday, during a convention of the Congress's regional party workers in Ambikapur, Singh Deo had told Surguja district Congress president, Rakesh Gupta that some BJP leaders and politicians from the third front were in touch with him and tried to convince him to join their side.

"During the convention, Singh Deo said that I would sit at home rather than join with the BJP," Gupta said.

Assembly elections will be held in Chhattisgarh by the end of this year.