Chhattisgarh - Deciding issues for 2009 LS polls

With poll fever gripping the heartland of tribals, Chhattisgarh is ready to vote in the general elections.

Devika Chhibber

With election fever gripping the heartland of tribals, Chhattisgarh is ready to vote in the general elections. The excitement of poll promises are in the air, as every party is seen to be busy wooing the electorate through several tactics. The state will vote for 11 LS seats (out of which four are reserved for the STs and one for SCs) in the first phase on April 16. The 11 seats are Mahasamund, Bastar, Bilaspur, Durg, Sarangarh, Raigarh, Raipur, Rajnandgaon, Korba, Janjgir, Sarguja. However, this crucial decision of the electorate would depend on several issues, which are going to play a key role in deciding the fate of major parties. The issues can be categorized into national and domestic. Let us take a glimpse at them- Terrorism- During UPA`s tenure, India witnessed several severe terror attacks in various states including the worst one in Mumbai. The ruling BJP in the state is determined to highlight the Congress party’s ‘soft’ stance against terrorism and those responsible for the attacks. Whereas, Congress has maintained its stand that Pakistan, for the first time, confessed about its role in the terror strikes and through UPA led government’s effort the world attention has come about in India’s favour. Besides, Congress is not sparing any effort to expose the BJP by saying that during the latter’s regime the country faced several terror attacks and they had failed to stop them. Price-rise- This is another core issue, which can act against the Congress as BJP will surely blame the govt for not controlling inflation and thus letting prices of commodities rise, which made the life of a common man hell. Both the major parties in the state will try to impress the electorate with concessions granted in prices of commodities, especially rice as Chhattisgarh is popularly known as the rice-bowl of India. Already, the Congress has promised voters rice to BPL families at a price of Rs 3 per 35 Kg whereas the BJP has already reaped the benefit of its populist schemes in the recently held Assembly polls, and would try to woo people with the same card. Economic development- Congress can show its efficiency through its 5 years’ Budgets. The Congress manifesto has already highlighted the successive Union and Railway Budgets of its UPA govt serving the purposes for `Aam Aadmi`. However, BJP has established its success in the state and will woo the voters for providing strength at the Centre. The gross domestic product for the state has also increased to 9.41% and its per capita income stands at Rs.25,321 in 2007-08, up 12.43% over the previous year. The primary sector, which includes agriculture, forestry and mining, has grown 6.3%, with agriculture registering a growth of 4.29%. Similarly, for the secondary sector, which includes industry and manufacturing, there has been a sharp increase in the growth rate, which was 14.7% as compared to the target of 7.5%. The services sector recorded a growth of 7.78% against a target of 7.5% Naxalism and Salwa-Judum- Known for its exceptional scenic beauty and rich cultural heritage, Chhattisgarh has always been synonymous with tribes and tribal culture but today they face several dangers. Poor literacy rate and poverty led Maoists to form a key base in Chhattisgarh. Congress has been blaming the state government that it has so far failed to address the real issues and is rather involved in disturbing the tribal unity ad harmony by launching Salwa Judum. Besides, the movement has ended up dividing the tribal society and rendering thousands of poor men & women homeless. However, BJP has a point to propagate that through Salwa-Judum, a state sponsored anti-Naxalite campaign started in Bijapur and Dantewada districts in 2005, Naxal activities have been brought under control. Continuous presence of CRPF & other state terror battling forces have arguably brought the situation under control. Although the BJP has been successful in wooing tribal populace in the Assembly polls, a similar response is yet to be seen in the general elections. Conversions- In Chhattisgarh, conversion is another issue that can help BJP gain votes in the name of Hinduism. Some years back, Dilip Singh Judeo, currently contesting from Bilaspur, built an ashram to prevent conversions. The Ashram runs a chain of schools and hospitals, besides countering the proselytization by Christian missionaries. It has been successful in encouraging the tribals to identify themselves as part of the majority community, leading to the birth of what can be called the `born again-Hindu` class which has been the vanguard of the anti-conversion movement. BSP angle- Apart from the BJP and Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is the third largest party in the state. It is worth mentioning that in the 2004 General elections it gained 4.54% votes, in comparison to BJP `s 47% and Congress’ 40%. Although the BSP vote-share may appear meager, it can make or break the fate of any candidate if there is a neck and neck fight in the constituencies it has dominance over. The BSP has reworked its strategy to give a tough fight to both the national parties despite failing to even open its account in the last two Lok Sabha elections. It has given the maximum number of tickets to Tribals who form 32% of the states population, while relying on its trusted Bahujan Samaj of which SC (12%) and Upper castes (6-8%) are expected to play crucial role in its favour.