BJP banks on Modi to revive its poll fortune in Chhattisgarh

In all the parliamentary elections held after the creation of Chhattisgarh in 2000, bifurcating 10 Chhattisgarhi and six Gondi speaking south-eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh, the BJP won 10 out of the state’s 11 Lok Sabha seats.

Three general elections later, however, the scenario is different. In 2019, the BJP is up against a resurgent Congress, which has just emerged victorious in the assembly elections held at the fag-end of the last year, halting the saffron party’s uninterrupted 15-year rule in the state. The Congress won 68 seats in the 90-member Assembly, while the BJP got only 15 seats.

The challenge for the Congress is to repeat its assembly-election performance and the BJP is to buck the trend.

As part of its revival strategy, the BJP denied tickets to all its sitting MPs to start on a clean slate. “The idea is to contest this general election purely on national issues by banking on the popularity of Modiji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) without any past baggage of the erstwhile BJP-led state government,” said a senior leader of the party wishing anonymity.

The controversial ticket allocation, much to the BJP’s relief, did not create much internal bickering. All sidelined senior leaders such as former chief minister Raman Singh — whose son Abhisek, the outgoing MP from Rajnandgaon, was denied ticket — rallied around and backed the relatively unknown faces whom the party fielded.

“I am a small party worker and I respect the party’s decision. Whatever I’m today is because of the party, so I’m not the one to grumble over ticket denial,” said seven-time Raipur MP Ramesh Bais, who has been benched this time.

Eavesdropping at the BJP state headquarters in Kushabhau Thakre Parisar in Raipur, one could hear a different explanation. Party leaders in private claim that the BJP is so heavily dependent on Modi that they (benched leaders) have no other option but to toe the party line drawn by Modi-Amit Shah duo.

The recurrent themes in the BJP’s campaign in the state, which came to an end at 5pm on Sunday, were national security, terrorism, Ram Mandir and Congress’s alleged failure to alleviate poverty in the country in its 60-year rule. The party’s prime target is Gandhi family and not so much Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and his newly elected government.

Prime Minister Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari were the high-profile BJP leaders who extensively campaigned in the state.

“The Modi wave blowing across the country will steer the BJP to victory in all the Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh,” said senior BJP leader Sachchidanand Upasane.

The BJP has a reason to bank on Modi. “In the 2018 assembly elections, the party was almost wiped out in the state. But after the recent air strike on Pakistan following Pulwama terror attack, the party has regained some of its lost ground. Modi’s popularity is still very high in the state,” said Raipur-based commentator and senior journalist Sujeet Kumar.

The Congress, on the other hand, is desperately trying to localize the contest, highlighting welfare measures of Baghel’s government. The CM is asking people to compare his 60-day rule with Modi’s 60 months. The BJP, however, retorted saying the comparison should be between Modi’s 60 months with Congress’s 60 years.

The Congress is banking on the populist measures its government has taken in the state. Short-term farm loans waivers of about ₹6,100 crore, minimum support price of paddy to ₹2,500 a quintal, the hike in remuneration of ‘tendu’ leaves collectors from ₹2,500 to ₹4,000 per sack and power tariff cut are the party’s main poll planks.

“Farmers need not have to vote for us if they have not received minimum support price of ₹2500 for their paddy. Don’t vote for us if your electric bill has not been halved. Don’t vote for us if you are not getting 35 kg of rice against each ration card. We seek vote on the basis of our work and not in the name of religion and caste like Modiji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Baghel recently said in a tweet in Hindi.

The Congress is so much relying on local leaders and local issues that Rahul Gandhi did not even campaign in the first two phases of elections in the state.

Congress insiders claim that the party is also riddled with factionalism with many senior leaders such as Tamradhwaj Sahu and TS Singhdeo staying unhappy with Baghel’s growing clout in the party. Apart from being the chief minister, Baghel also holds the post of Pradesh Congress president. This could have a negative impact on the party’s poll prospect.

Another worrying factor for the Congress is the presence of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in all the 11 Lok Sabha seats in the state that has about 11.6% Dalit population. BSP’s ally the Janta Congress Chhattisgarh of former chief minister Ajit Jogi has not fielded any candidate this time and is backing the BSP in all the seats.

The Naxal-hit Bastar (ST) constituency went to polls in the first phase on April 11, while in the second phase on April 18, voting was held in Rajanandgaon, Kanker (ST) and Mahasamund Lok Sabha seats.

In the third and final phase of polling on April 23, the fate of 123 candidates will be decided in the seven Lok Sabha seats of Raipur, Durg, Bilaspur, Korba, Janjgir-Champa (SC), Surguja (ST) and Raigarh (ST).