MP elections: Why Congress, BJP view STs as make-or-break vote bank

With the tribals accounting for 21% of Madhya Pradesh's population and the state having 47 assembly constituencies reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs), both the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress have pulled out all stops to woo the tribal voters ahead of the November 17 elections.

Besides the reserved ST seats, tribal votes play a decisive role in nearly 40 general seats as well. Therefore, they will decide the fate of political parties in more than one-third of the total 230 assembly segments and it’s not surprising that both the major players in the state’s politics are doing everything possible to garner their support.

There are 46 recognised Scheduled Tribes across 54 districts of Madhya Pradesh. Of these, six major tribal groups – Bhil, Gond, Kol, Kurku, Sahariya, and Baiga – account for more than 90 percent of the 1.53 crore tribal population.

Key to power

With the BJP government's anti-incumbency of two decades and the case of atrocities on STs on the rise, the Congress appears confident of improving upon its tally of 31 out of 47 ST seats in 2018. The Congress had managed to turn the tables last time, as the situation was exactly opposite to it in 2013 when the BJP had won 31 ST seats and Congress bagged only 15. In 2008, the BJP won 29 ST seats and Congress 17. Interestingly, tribal votes played a crucial role in the BJP’s return to power in 2003 when the party won 37 out of 41 reserved seats while the Congress could only manage to get two seats.

The data cited above clearly suggests that whichever of the two parties won more seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs) formed the state government. It was the tribal vote that tilted the scales and ensured the BJP’s three successive victories in 2003, 2008 and 2013. Similarly, when the community backed the Congress in 2018 the party wrested the power from the BJP.

Poll promises galore

The Congress is hoping that the party will make major gains in tribal-dominated areas due to three major poll promises that it has made to the STs in the state. Besides, resentment brewing among the tribal community against the BJP government over its alleged failure to ensure their security and dignity has added to the party’s confidence in performing well in ST segments.

The Congress has promised implementation of the Sixth Schedule in the districts having more than 50% tribal population. The Sixth Schedule vests the tribal region with substantial legal powers to protect their land and culture. It is in force in the northeast states such as Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, and Assam. There are six districts in Madhya Pradesh with above 50% tribal population including Barwani, Alirajpur, Jhabua, Dhar, Dindori, and Mandla.

The party has also promised enactment of the PESA (Panchayat, Extension to Scheduled Areas Act, 1996). The PESA Act will empower the tribal regions to hold their own Gram Sabhas and make administrative decisions. Though Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced the implementation of the Act in November last year to mark the birth anniversary of tribal leader Birsa Munda, it was yet to be implemented on the ground. This law empowers Gram Sabhas to administer the areas covered under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, under which the rights of local tribes over water, forests, and land, and the protection of culture are ensured.

Another major Congress poll promise was a hike in the rate of tendu patta from the existing Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 per bag. The promised hike in the rate of tendu leaf plucking is expected to benefit at least 45 lakh people in the tribal-dominated areas. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi had unveiled these promises at an election rally in Mandla, a predominantly tribal district, on October 12.

On the other hand, after toppling the Kamal Nath government in early 2020, the BJP launched a massive programme to woo the community by celebrating tribal icons, renaming railway stations after them and celebrating tribal festivals, among other things.

The BJP’s tribal outreach began in 2021 with Union Home Minister Amit Shah participating in a programme to mark the martyrdom of tribal king Shankar Shah. The Jabalpur event was followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi rechristening Bhopal’s Habibganj Station after Gond queen Rani Kamalapati in November 2021. Modi also participated in a mega event in Jabalpur last month to mark the 500th birth anniversary of Rani Durgavati. Chief Minister Chouhan announced a slew of schemes for tribals during these events over the last couple of years.

Atrocities on rise

Already on the defensive due to anti-incumbency of two decades and voter fatigue, the BJP is also worried due to the increase in instances of atrocities on tribals in Madhya Pradesh.

A video of a BJP MLA’s aide in Sidhi district of MP urinating on a tribal, Dashmesh Rawat, had gone viral in July, sparking nationwide outrage. The incident prompted CM Chouhan to call the victim at his official residence and wash his feet as an act of atonement. Similarly, in July last year, visuals of a tribal woman, Rampyari Bai, being immolated in the Guna district of MP flooded the internet. In 2021, five members of a tribal member were brutally killed and their bodies were buried in eight-feet-deep pit in Dewas district.

Sampatlal Batti and Dhansay Inwati, both tribals, were beaten to death by some cow vigilantes on the mere suspicion of cow slaughter in Seoni district in May 2021. A tribal man identified as Kanhaiya Lal Bheel was thrashed, tied up, and then dragged by a truck on a tarred road on suspicion of theft in Neemuch district in August 2021. He later died in the hospital.

While Madhya Pradesh is home to 13.6% of India’s tribal population, 23.5% of crimes against tribal people in India take place in MP. According to the National Crime Records Bureau report, ‘Crime in India 2021’, Madhya Pradesh reported 2,627 cases filed under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in 2021. The number increased from 2,401 in 2020 and 1,922 in 2019.