Congress lawmakers in Chhattisgarh “unanimously elected” Bhupesh Baghel as their legislative party leader on Sunday, ending the suspense over who would be the state’s new chief minister and capping days of intense deliberations involving the top leadership.

Baghel will take oath as chief minister at 5pm on Monday, party central observer Mallikarjun Kharge told journalists in state capital Raipur after a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting.

No other minister would take oath on that day, he added.

Baghel, who steered the party to an emphatic victory in last month’s elections, pipped colleagues T.S. Singh Deo, Tamradhwaj Sahu and Charan Das Mahant to the post, with Congress chief Rahul Gandhi deciding on the 57-year-old Other Backward Class leader to head the state government.

“It was a tough decision because all the four leaders worked equally for the party and they all are equal,” Kharge said.

He said Rahul chose Baghel after discussions with all the four aspirants and “we conveyed the message to all the legislators today in the CLP meeting during which they all accepted it and unanimously elected Baghel as the CLP leader”.

“There are several challenges before us as we have come to power after 15 years in the state. We will fulfil our poll promises and we are confident that Baghel will discharge his responsibilities well,” Kharge said.

The party in a tweet said the new government’s first task would be to declare a loan waiver for Chhattisgarh’s farmers.

“Celebrations are in order in Chhattisgarh as Bhupesh Baghel is appointed CM. We wish him the best as he forms a government of equality, transparency and integrity starting off with loan waiver for farmers as we promised,” the party tweeted, along with a picture of Baghel.

The Congress’s top leadership had held intense discussions over the past three days before deciding on Baghel, who represents Patan constituency in Durg district.

Rahul had held several rounds of talks with the four aspirants at his Tughlaq Lane residence in New Delhi on Saturday.

Earlier, on December 12, the CLP had met here in the presence of AICC observer Kharge and the AICC-in-charge for Chhattisgarh, P.L. Punia. It had then passed a resolution authorising Rahul to take the final call.

The Congress has returned to power in Chhattisgarh after 15 years, winning 68 seats in the 90-member House in last month’s elections held on November 12 and 20.

The BJP, which had ruled the state since 2003, won 15 seats.