Chhattisgarh: Modi, Shah to turn heat on Baghel govt

By Manish Anand

New Delhi, September 27: Amid the growing perception that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not paying adequate attention to Chhattisgarh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah will stir the poll pot in the state this week. The BJP is claiming that the party will contest the Assembly election in the state on the strength of the workers.

“The prime minister is coming to Bilaspur, and his rally will mark the launch of the party campaign in the state. Ahead of Modi, Shah will camp in Chhattisgarh to rally the party workers. There have been improvements on the ground, and it will certainly not be a cakewalk for the Congress here,” said a senior BJP functionary, who is camping in the state for a month to oversee the poll preparations.

Incumbent Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is seen to have strengthened his position in Chhattisgarh, building on his other backward caste credentials. With the party high command backing him up, Baghel is also seen to have overcome the faction fighting in the state unit.

The BJP is not projecting former Chief Minister Raman Singh as the face of the party in Chhattisgarh. “The state is tired of him as the face and the BJP is banking on the strength of the party leaders to build campaign with focus to counter claims of the Baghel-led government. The BJP’s focus is to lead the charge from the bottom with the help of the workers and face is not needed,” said another senior BJP functionary.

The BJP is building the narrative on tribal-centric credentials in Chhattisgarh. The BJP is repeatedly stating that the first tribal President Droupadi Murmu was given with Modi at the helm of the government. The BJP has also taken out ‘Parivartan Yatra’ in Chhattisgarh, which has been seen by the party’s MPs.

Modi will be seen in the state on September 30 and again on October 3, in Bilaspur and Jagdalpur. Chhattisgarh has a total of 90 Assembly seats, and the state will witness a direct contest between the BJP and the Congress. While the BJP is drumming up the achievements of the Central government with an outreach with beneficiaries, Baghel government has been nursing a welfare-centric constituency focussed on entitlement of the Congress.     

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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