New Delhi: There’s a well-liked perception in Chhattisgarh: Whoever wins Bastar wins the state. It held true this time because the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering (BJP) made its massive comeback on the again of victories in 26 meeting seats throughout the 2 tribal-dominated divisions of Bastar and Surguja — the results of a rigorously crafted technique concentrating on tribal votes.
In 2018, it was the Congress that swept the Bastar area, bagging 11 out of 12 seats, however the BJP clinched eight this time. Nonetheless, it was Surguja that noticed probably the most dramatic reversal of fortunes, going from a clear sweep of all 14 seats by the Congress to a clear sweep by the BJP. And a type of seats now within the BJP’s kitty is Ambikapur, the bastion of Surguja’s titular maharaja, T.S. Singhdeo, who the Congress had made deputy chief minister simply months earlier than the meeting elections.
Chhattisgarh voted in two phases on 7 and 17 November, and the outcomes introduced Sunday noticed the BJP storm again to energy, successful 54 seats out of 90 and lowering the ruling Congress to only 35. With the tribal belts being essential to this victory, the BJP’s central management will face extra strain because it contemplates a alternative: to offer the state its first tribal chief minister or to pick one from the Different Backward Lessons (OBCs). The get together had banked on assist from the latter and fielded 11 candidates from the Sahu group, a dominant part among the many OBCs.
The BJP’s turnaround within the tribal belts wasn’t straightforward, and was made doable solely by a cautious technique. This included fielding new faces in addition to senior tribal leaders as candidates in these important areas, steady outreach that integrated tribal symbolism, pushing central welfare schemes, utilizing narratives round non secular conversion and nationalism to polarise the tribal inhabitants, and exploiting the faultlines occasioned by the Congress selecting an OBC chief minister.
The get together fielded 47 new faces within the elections, of whom 30 have been elected. It additionally made certain to discipline outstanding tribal leaders, together with Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Renuka Singh in Bharatpur-Sonhat, former BJP state chief Vishnudeo Sai in Kunkuri, and former Rajya Sabha MP Rajya Sabha Ramvichar Netam in Ramanujganj, all of whom received.
Former state minister Lata Usendi — who defeated veteran Congress chief and minister Mohan Markam to win the Kondagaon seat — was additionally appointed a nationwide vp of the BJP simply earlier than the election. With present state chief Arun Sao being from the OBCs, this helped to stability issues out and amplify the message that tribal leaders had a rising share within the get together’s energy construction.
Usendi says there was a sentiment among the many tribal inhabitants that the Baghel authorities was working just for the OBCs. “Our approach was to make our welfare push in tribal seats and tell them how the BJP has made a tribal person the President of India, and that only bringing the BJP to power can ensure their welfare,” she tells ThePrint.
One other senior Chhattisgarh BJP chief says the BJP “ used every fault line of the Congress, like the OBC chief minister not paying attention to the tribal belts of Bastar and Surguja, and how he humiliated Singhdeo. We used the Sachin Pilot narrative in Rajasthan to win back the Gurjars, and we used the fight between Singhdeo and Baghel to exploit sentiments in Surguja as Singhdeo has credibility among the tribal people.”
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Non secular polarisation & nationalism
The BJP was profitable in increase a story about the specter of non secular conversion among the many tribal inhabitants. Quickly after its defeat in 2018, the get together — along with the cadre of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which has an infinite presence within the tribal districts by means of the establishment of the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram — started to boost the problem actively.
Narayanpur within the Bastar division emerged as a focus for this drive, with the RSS’s tribal outfit organising programmes to win over those that had transformed to Christianity. Quite a few incidents of violence ensued among the many divided tribal inhabitants within the area, together with an assault on a church in January this yr. When the Bhupesh Baghel authorities named a number of tribal individuals as accused within the ensuing case, the BJP criticised the transfer.
This remained a festering sore, contributing to polarisation within the run-up to the elections. Now, BJP basic secretary and former MLA Kedar Kashyap has received the Narayanpur meeting seat by greater than 19,000 votes.
The get together additionally made use of nationalist discourse to win the elections. For instance, it fielded Ram Kumar Toppo, a former Central Reserve Police Power (CRPF) commando who was awarded the President’s Medal for Gallantry in 2021, in opposition to state minister and tribal chief Amarjeet Bhagat in Sitapur — a constituency the latter had received constantly since 2003.
The BJP performed on a controversial assertion by Bhagat — a few soldier’s obligation being to “protect the country at the borders and not to fight elections” — to accuse him of disrespecting nationalist sentiments, linking this to Congress leaders questioning the truth of the surgical strikes carried out in opposition to Pakistan in 2016 in retaliation for the Pulwama assault. Toppo went on to defeat Bhagat by over 17,000 votes.
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Give attention to smaller events in powerful seats
In addition to caste calculations, House Minister Amit Shah and Rajya Sabha MP Om Mathur — as state in-charge, the brains behind the BJP’s micromanagement and filling of lacunae — developed distinct methods for the tribal seats and the central plains, it’s learnt.
Within the plains, the get together made a welfare push. Searching for farmers’ votes, it countered the Congress’s paddy bonuses with its personal procurement guarantees. In its manifesto, launched in early November, it promised an annual money switch of Rs 12,000 for married ladies, and requested each functionary to get types stuffed out — focussing on tribal ladies — in order that monetary help could possibly be distributed, making a buzz in poor districts.
The Congress reacted solely after Deepavali, promising a better Rs 15,000 annual monetary help, however the BJP’s equipment had tapped the second.
One other Technique of dividing votes performed nicely in powerful seats in Surguja, the place just a few tribal events have a base. Based on sources, Shah at an inside BJP assembly in October had requested get together males to assist smaller events, making certain that they’d divide votes.
In Ambikapur, for instance, the BJP’s Rajesh Agrawal defeated Singhdeo by simply 94 votes. In the meantime, the Gondvana Gantantra Social gathering’s candidate was in a position to safe 6,083 votes, and different smaller events have been additionally in a position to win votes that might have made up the distinction, such because the Hamar Raj Social gathering with 719 votes.
Welfare push and identification politics
A senior Chattisgargh BJP chief says, “Whether it was the election of the first tribal President, or tribal ministers in the cabinet, or the prime minister celebrating and visiting (tribal icon) Birsa Munda’s birthplace, The BJP used that narrative to convince tribals that it respects them and has left no stone unturned for their welfare.”
He provides: “The prime minister launched a Rs 24,000 crore plan for vulnerable tribal groups in the last days of campaigning only 200 km away from Chattisgarh to send a message to the tribal constituency. And while Baghel kept harping on the Chhattisgarhiya identity, we askedm what about the Surguja identity or the Bastar identity, to use the faultline of tribal versus non-tribal identity politics.”
A BJP MLA from the Bastar area says, “From day one after Om Mathur arrived as state in-charge, there was a new aggression in the party to win back tribals. He asked us to visit the homes of beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and felicitate them. Similarly, beneficiaries of Garib Kalyan and other schemes were shortlisted to be honour at one function or the other. When the party promised the Mahtari scheme (the financial aid for women), camps were organised to fill out forms for women. These welfare schemes and regular outreach made a huge difference in winning back tribals.”
Based on former BJP state chief Vishnudeo Sai, the state unit additionally realised that the discourse round a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) may create confusion among the many tribal inhabitants of Chhattisgarh.
“Feedback was sent to the party’s central unit about its repercussions and the party did not push it. This helped to avoid confusion and maintain harmony among tribals.”
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