Rahul Gandhi’s NYAY and Baghel govt’s delivery put Congress on solid ground

Preetam Naag, a resident of BSUP (Basic Services to Urban Poor) Colony, in the outskirts of the Chhattisgarh state capital had an expected visitor on a Saturday afternoon. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel dashed to this colony, housing economically weaker people without prior notice.

As the convoy entered the colony, people thronged to see the Chief Minister. Baghel spend a good time talking to them about NYAY - the scheme Congress president Rahul Gandhi announced will be implemented if the party is voted to power at the Centre. The plan guarantees minimum income of Rs 72000 to a poor family’s kitty every year.

Before Baghel left the area, the social media was abuzz with a Twitter message relayed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The poll managers of the state Opposition party tried to give a twist to the tale. The BJP started the propaganda that Baghel had to face strong opposition from the poor people during his visit. Naag, however, denies it, saying people were delighted to see a Chief Minister at their doorstep.

The reaction from the BJP, however, did not come as a surprise for the political observers. “The poll promise of Congress president Rahul Gandhi has clicked in a big way and BJP strategists are in a damage control exercise,” says one of the observers. What has perplexed the BJP managers is that people have been sensing that Congress delivers what it promises as the Baghel government promptly implemented major parts of the Assembly poll promises, he adds.

The Congress’ landslide victory in Chhattisgarh was fuelled by distress among farmers and tribals. Besides, the urban voters’ disenchantment with the erstwhile BJP government also played its part. At least on the farmers’ front, Baghel has gone on an overdrive in paddy procurement with the state buying over 80 lakh tonnes of paddy in the kharif marketing season 2018-19, paying an attractive sum of Rs 2500 per quintal. The Congress has promised an additional Rs 750 per quintal bonus to the Centre’s minimum support price of Rs 1,750 per quintal, which adds up to Rs 2,500 per quintal.

Baghel government’s delivery, coupled with Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s poll promise to provide Rs 72,000 every year to each poor family, has improved the party’s chances at the hustings in the paddy cultivating central plains of the state that will go to the polls in the second and third phases. In the first phase, the Maoist-den of Bastar went to the polls.

While three constituencies, including Kanker, Rajnandgaon and Mahasamund, will go to the polls in the second phase, polling will be held in the remaining seven constituencies in latter phases. These include Raipur, Durg, Korba, Sarguja, Bilaspur, Janjgir-Champa and Raigarh.

The final phase of the election is crucial for the BJP as it has already received a big jolt when the Chhattisgarh Janta Congress (CJC), headed by former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, decided to not contest the general election. Jogi has considerable sway among the Scheduled Caste voters that dominates most of the constituencies going to the polls in the second and third phase.

Political observers feel Jogi has been in a position to play spoilsport for the Congress in at least five seats. Though the CJC will support its ally, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which is contesting all 11 seats, the equation will not go against the Congress. For, the BSP has been contesting elections earlier too but Jogi’s new outfit was seen eating into Congress votes by turning an otherwise bipolar election into a three-cornered contest.

The other backward castes will additionally benefit the Congress in absence of Jogi as Baghel comes from one of the backward communities himself. Besides, the reduction of electricity bill by half is resonating well with urban voters.

While the BJP is banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress has launched a frontal attack against its leader. “We are appealing to people not to back Modi as he has been against farmers and poor people,” says Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Shailesh Nitin Trivedi. The subsidised meal centres for the poor has stopped as the Centre has abandoned its allocation of rice, he adds.

The efforts of the Congress in targeting the Prime Minister will not help in winning people’s sympathy, feels BJP spokesperson Shrichand Sunderani.

With electioneering entering into its final leg, Chhattisgarh is all set to see another round of face-off between the Congress and the BJP in less than five months. The humiliating defeat of the BJP that has been confined to 15 seats in the 90-member Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly has made the task for the Congress much easier.