The worst-ever Maoist strike on political class wiping off the state's Congress top brass and rape of minor tribal girls in a residential school brought infamy to Chhattisgarh, which in the fag end of 2013 saw a power-packed assembly election in which BJP retained power.
Raman Singh joined the elite club of BJP chief ministers who have scored hat-tricks in their respective states, leading his party to a historic victory. He had several challenges like criticism from Opposition Congress after the killing of its senior leaders and anti-incumbency factor.
But the Chhattisgarh Food Security Act, which he is credited of bringing in much before the National Food Security Act, is being dubbed as a game changer for 61-year-old Singh. Distribution of rice at subsidised price to poor families seems to have done the trick for the 'Chaur wale baba' (rice man) who proved wrong all political analysis and opinion polls to emerge victorious.
On May 25 evening, heavily-armed Maoists ambushed a convoy of Congress leaders in Jiram valley of Bastar district when they were returning after a public meeting in restive Sukma.
Nearly, 28 people including PCC chief Nand Kumar Patel, his son Dinesh, senior Congress leader Mahendra Karma and ex-MLA Uday Mudaliyar were killed and 37 others, including former Union minister VC Shukla, injured in the incident. Shukla died at a hospital in Gurgaon in June.
Union minister Charandas Mahant was made new PCC chief. Early this year, the state was in the news with the incident of rape of minor tribal girls in a government-run residential school of Jhaliyamari village in Kanker district of north Bastar.
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