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Populist politics
Digvijay Singh has been assiduously wooing certain sections of the electorate. In January 2002, he distributed free agricultural land to 3.55 lakh Dalit families. He announced 27 per cent reservation for other backward classes, gave land to 4 lakh slum dwellers, declared Jains a minority community, and gave land to almost all caste-based organisations. Tough act to follow. The BJP has to combat his pro-poor acts with a rather BSP-like comment.
Digvijay Singh has been assiduously wooing certain sections of the electorate. In January 2002, he distributed free agricultural land to 3.55 lakh Dalit families. He announced 27 per cent reservation for other backward classes, gave land to 4 lakh slum dwellers, declared Jains a minority community, and gave land to almost all caste-based organisations. Tough act to follow. The BJP has to combat his pro-poor acts with a rather BSP-like comment.
Digvijay`s doles (incidentally, he says he believes in the philosophy of Amartya Sen) have, however, sapped the economic strength of the state. Infrastructure is at its worst. The roads are in bad shape, power shortage is at its peak and 28,000 daily-wagers have lost their jobs.
Congressmen themselves admit that Digvijay`s charm has helped in shifting media attention from "such sordid facts".
Uma Bharati has lashed out at Digvijay for bringing the state to disrepair. The arch-diplomat retorts by calling her his little sister. And with his trademark subtle humour, he terms her an "asset of the Congress party". He uses all available opportunities to make his `little sister` uncomfortable. He has needled her on her alleged relationship with former BJP leader Govindacharya.
At Digvijay`s behest, Swami Prasad, Uma`s brother, has become the biggest critic of his sister. Prasad, a suspended BJP legislator, is now known to be planning to join the Congress. He will probably be a campaign weapon against his sister.
Uma has succeeded in getting the BJP to work as a team. When Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani declared in March that she would be the chief ministerial candidate, not all leaders were impressed. But she has successfully pacified the warring factions and brought them in one fold. During her campaign, she quietly instructs workers to raise slogans in support of leaders accompanying her, so that they do not feel neglected. So the emotive leader too has strategies.
Digvijay has a united organisation behind him. Critics say this was not achieved by giving leaders their due, but by sidelining and finishing them off, politically. "Digvijay is Congress."
His sharpest critic, Congress legislator and Gandhian Kalpana Parulekar, says: "Digvijay will be remembered as a most untruthful politician."
Probably as part of his "management tactics", Digvijay has adopted a soft Hindutva line. He has given financial assistance to thousands of temples and never misses an opportunity to touch the feet of sants and sadhus. He wrote that famous letter to Prime Minister Vajpayee suggesting a ban on cow slaughter.
Not to be beaten back in her home turf, Uma too begins her day with a visit to the temple. She offers a roti to the first cow she sees and in her speeches, she urges people to keep one roti apart for gaumata. In Maheswar, on the banks of the river Narmada, she refused to accept a memorandum on the premises of a temple. "No politics inside a temple," she said. The irony did not escape many.
Congressmen themselves admit that Digvijay`s charm has helped in shifting media attention from "such sordid facts".
Uma Bharati has lashed out at Digvijay for bringing the state to disrepair. The arch-diplomat retorts by calling her his little sister. And with his trademark subtle humour, he terms her an "asset of the Congress party". He uses all available opportunities to make his `little sister` uncomfortable. He has needled her on her alleged relationship with former BJP leader Govindacharya.
At Digvijay`s behest, Swami Prasad, Uma`s brother, has become the biggest critic of his sister. Prasad, a suspended BJP legislator, is now known to be planning to join the Congress. He will probably be a campaign weapon against his sister.
Uma has succeeded in getting the BJP to work as a team. When Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani declared in March that she would be the chief ministerial candidate, not all leaders were impressed. But she has successfully pacified the warring factions and brought them in one fold. During her campaign, she quietly instructs workers to raise slogans in support of leaders accompanying her, so that they do not feel neglected. So the emotive leader too has strategies.
Digvijay has a united organisation behind him. Critics say this was not achieved by giving leaders their due, but by sidelining and finishing them off, politically. "Digvijay is Congress."
His sharpest critic, Congress legislator and Gandhian Kalpana Parulekar, says: "Digvijay will be remembered as a most untruthful politician."
Probably as part of his "management tactics", Digvijay has adopted a soft Hindutva line. He has given financial assistance to thousands of temples and never misses an opportunity to touch the feet of sants and sadhus. He wrote that famous letter to Prime Minister Vajpayee suggesting a ban on cow slaughter.
Not to be beaten back in her home turf, Uma too begins her day with a visit to the temple. She offers a roti to the first cow she sees and in her speeches, she urges people to keep one roti apart for gaumata. In Maheswar, on the banks of the river Narmada, she refused to accept a memorandum on the premises of a temple. "No politics inside a temple," she said. The irony did not escape many.