Bhupesh Baghel (born 23 August 1960), also known as Kaka, is an Indian politician who served as the third Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh from 2018 to 2023 and also served as leader of the house in legislative assembly. He has been the president of Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress from 2014 to 2019. He has represented the Patan constituency in the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly from 2003 to 2008 and again since 2013. He was the cabinet minister of Transportation in undivided Madhya Pradesh in Digvijaya Singh government from 1999 to 2003. Baghel was the first Minister for Revenue, Public Health Engineering and Relief Work in Chhattisgarh.
Personal life Baghel was born on 23 August 1960 in the Durg district. He is the son of Nande Kumar Baghel and Bindeshwari Baghel. His family's primary occupation was agriculture.
Baghel is married to Mukteshwari Baghel. They have one son and three daughters. Baghel belongs to the Kurmi OBC community. His wife, Mukteshwari Baghel, is the daughter of noted Hindi writer Dr. Narendra Dev Verma and the niece of spiritual leader Swami Atmanand.
Political career
Beginning and rise Bhupesh Baghel began his political career at the Indian Youth Congress and became a member of the All India Congress Committee, he was also the General Secretary and Program Coordinator of the Pradesh Congress Committee. He was first elected to the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 1993 from Patan and was later elected five times from the same seat.
Baghel was appointed the Minister of State, Chief Minister related to Public Grievances Redressal (Independent Charge), M.P. Governance in Digvijay Singh's cabinet in December 1997 and became Minister of Transport in December 1998.
After the state of Chhattisgarh was formed in November 1999, he became a member of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly and was appointed as Minister, of Revenue Rehabilitation, Relief Work, and Public Health Mechanics under CG Governance. He once again became MLA in the 2002 state election from the same seat. He lost the Patan assembly seat in 2008 elections. He also lost parliamentary elections in 2009 from Raipur. He lost the Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha constituency in 2024, following his government's defeat in state elections in 2023.
Baghel won the Patan Vidhan Sabha seat in the 2013 election and became a member of the Working Committee, Chhattisgarh Assembly. In 2014-15, he became a member of the Public Accounts Committee, CG Government.
President of Chhattisgarh Congress Baghel was President of the state unit of the Indian National Congress from October 2014 to June 2019. After the attack on several of the top Congress leaders in the 2013 Naxal attack in Darbha Valley, Baghel assumed leadership responsibilities in the party's state unit following the incident. He managed to sideline ex-Chief Minister Ajit Jogi and his son Amit Jogi in state congress after the Antagarh Assembly by-election audio tape row.
Under his presidency, the Chhattisgarh Congress won the 2018 Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly election by a majority of 68 out of 90 seats.
Controversies In March 2025, he was named as an accused in a FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Mahadev betting app case.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided several locations linked to Bhupesh Baghel and his son Chaitanya Baghel. In July 2025, ED arrested his son Chaitanya Baghel for allegedly laundering in connection with a liquor scam.
Positions held Year Position 1990-94 President, District Youth Congress Committee 1994–95 Vice President, M.P. Youth Congress Committee (MP) 1993-2001 Member: M.P. Assembly Estimates Committee Member: MP Consultative Committee of the Aviation Department of Legislative Assembly Member: M.P. Food and Civil Supplies Corporation Director: M.P. Housing Board Member: M.P. Backward Classes Organization Member: M.P. Sainik Board 1993-2000 Member: MP Legislative Assembly 2000-2008 and 2013-till date Member: Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly 1993-2008 Member: M.P. And CG Assembly Constituency Patan, District-Durg (MP) 2003-2008 Deputy Leader, Congress Legislative Party, Chhattisgarh December 2013 - June 2019 President, Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee 1996 – present Guardian, Chhattisgarh Manwa Kurmi Samaj 2018 - 2023 Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh
Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh (2018-2023)
Baghel became MLA from the Patan assembly seat again and became the Chief Minister of the state, defeating BJP’s Raman Singh, after leading the opposition in Chhattisgarh State Assembly for 15 years. He took oath as chief minister on 17 December 2018. He was replaced by Kondagaon MLA Mohan Markam as PCC President in June 2019.
Baghel’s government implemented two poll promises: a farm loan waiver and raising paddy support price by 50%. The order letter was released shortly after the oath-taking ceremony, though money transfers to farmers took days, weeks, and months in some cases. Tendu patta things prices were increased. The government made a really big step away from shiksha-karmi (temporary teacher) policy and vacancies for posts of 15,000 permanent teachers were announced.
Welfare schemes
Narva, Garva, Ghurva, Bari The Narva, Garva, Ghurva, Bari (NGGB) scheme was launched to ensure water conservation, livestock protection and development, the use of organic compost through household waste, and cultivating fruits and vegetables in backyards for self-consumption and earning additional income.
Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana
In the 2020 state money limit presented by the Chhattisgarh government, a provision of Rs 5700 crore was made for the welfare of farmers through which Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana was launched on 21 May, the martyrdom day of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
In Chhattisgarh, the total cultivable land area is 46.77 lakh hectares. 70% of the state population is engaged in agriculture and around 37.46 Lakh are farm families. The objective of Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana is to encourage crop production and increase agricultural acreage. An amount of Rs 5750 crores is transferred to the accounts of farmers in four installments under the scheme in a year. Chhattisgarh is the only state procuring paddy from farmers at Rs 2,500 per quintal, which is higher than what the Centre has set. More than 23.99 lakh farmers in the state are benefiting from this scheme. Under the scheme, a provision was made to give input subsidies to farmers producing paddy, sugarcane, maize, soybean, pulses and oilseeds in the Kharif season 2021-22. Later, the provision of this scheme was modified to include Kodo, Kutki and Ragi, and an input subsidy of Rs.9,000 per acre for millet farmers. The government of Chhattisgarh has also decided to include the landless agricultural labourers in the second phase of the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana.
On 17 October 2022, farmers received a total of Rs.1,745 crores to prepare for the upcoming Rabi season under this scheme. Amount as input subsidy transferred directly into the bank accounts of 23.99 lakh farmers in the state. The state government has given farmers Rs.16,416.10 crores since its commencement. Farmers who plant trees in the fields will also be given an input subsidy of Rs.10 thousand per year. Chief Minister said the Chhattisgarh government has stated that its ‘Nyay’ schemes aim to promote social and economic support programs, namely Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana (RGKNY), Godhan Nyay Yojana and Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Bhumiheen Krishi Mazdoor Nyay Yojana (RGGBKMNY).
Godhan Nyay Yojana
On 21 July 2020, the Baghel-led Chhattisgarh government launched the Godhan Nyay Yojana to promote organic farming, create new employment opportunities at the rural and urban levels, promote cow rearing and cow protection, and benefit cattle farmers financially. As per the scheme, the government will procure cow dung at 2 per kilogram from farmers and cattle rearers. After the procurement, the cow dung will be converted to vermicompost and other products by members of the Women Self-Help Group, which will be sold to farmers as organic manure for 8 per kilogram, with the aim of promoting organic alternatives to chemical fertilizers.
As per an October 2022 report, 5.59 crores have been paid to the livestock owners under Godhan Nyay Yojana. Under the scheme, 162,497 cattle rearers of the state are benefiting, which includes 70,299 landless villagers and 44.55 percent of the beneficiaries of the Godhan Nyay Yojana are women. 312,647 cow dung traders were registered in 2021–22, up from 245,831 in 2020–21.
On the occasion of Hareli, a traditional festival of Chhattisgarh, the Chief Minister started the purchase of gaumutra (cow urine) under the scheme. The government has fixed a minimum rate of Rs 4 per litre of cow urine. According to a Chhattisgarh government official, the procured cow urine will be used to make pest control products and natural liquid fertilizer, A total of 24,547 litres of pest controller Brahmastra and 16,722 litres of Jeevamrit have been prepared from 70,889 litres of cow urine purchased in Gauthans. Beneficiaries earned Rs.14.75 lakh from selling 34,085 litres of Brahmastra and Jeevamrit.
The scheme has been reported to create employment opportunities in regions affected by Maoist insurgency as well. Also around 300 gauthan cum industrial parks will be set up in Chhattisgarh under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Industrial Parks (MGRIP) scheme. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also praised the Godhan Nyaya Yojana in the seventh meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog. To strengthen the economic condition of the villages, the Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh governments also adopted the Chhattisgarh model. Madhya Pradesh Government will run Gobar-Dhan project for the purchase of cow dung.
Swami Atmanand English Medium School
In Chhattisgarh, Swami Atmanand chose to work with locals, specifically young people in the area. He has devoted his time to tribal people and has inspired young people by teaching them about compassion and serving others. On November 1 2020, to mark Statehood Day, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel unveiled the scheme.
On 3 July 2020, the state's initial Swami Atmanand School was inaugurated. 52 schools opened their doors in various cities that same year. The stated goal of the scheme was to establish educational institutions in Chhattisgarh that have excellent facilities at par with private schools but are accessible and affordable for the parents of economically weaker sections of society as well.
Bhupesh Baghel said that the government would also establish English medium government colleges in various cities across the state to increase higher education in the region. In the beginning, ten institutions will be launched in ten cities.
Encouragement towards Sports Bhupesh Baghel, the former Chief Minister of India’s state of Chhattisgarh, promoted sports initiatives in the state.. Baghel who has taken charge as the Chief Minister has already hosted the Road Safety World Series at the state capital Raipur.
Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel also inaugurated the state’s own Olympics, called 'Chhattisgarhiya Olympics', with the stated aim of promoting traditional games namely langdi, bhaura, bati (kancha), and pitthul. “These games are not only entertaining but also beneficial for maintaining good physical and mental health. In rural areas, children, elderly, and youth—all will engage in these games for entertainment and to keep themselves fit”, Baghel commented.
Upliftment of tribals
Repatriation of tribal land