The government has deferred the strategic sale of NMDC Steel (NSL) as the matter has turned into a political hot potato in poll-bound Chhattisgarh.

The Congress government in the state — the NSL plant is located near Jagdalpur — has reportedly made the sale a political issue that could impact the electoral prospects of the Modi-led BJP. Chhattisgarh goes to the polls on November 7 and November 17.

Financial bids for the steel plant, owned by NMDC Ltd, are likely to be put off until the Lok Sabha polls.

Officials indicated the strategic sale of NSL with management control has now been put on the back burner because of prevailing political and market conditions.

They said the government would not rush to sell the plant as it is unlikely to get the best valuation. The government was expecting at least Rs 11,000 crore from the sale. The financial bids for NSL were expected after the new plant was commissioned in August.

NMDC has set up NMDC Steel Plant with a capacity of 3 million tonnes per annum at Nagarnar near Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh.

Earlier this year, the government had stated it had received multiple expressions of interest for NMDC Steel.

Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and Power, JSW Steel, Adani Group and Vedanta Group are likely to have bid for the government’s majority stake.

“Multiple Expressions of Interest (EoI) received for the Strategic Disinvestment of NMDC Steel Ltd (NSL). The transaction will now move to the second stage,” the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) said in a tweet.

The government has so far this year raised a paltry Rs 8,000 crore from selloffs against a target of Rs 51,000 crore announced in the budget.