Madhya Pradesh’s Mahakaushal, a region which is yet to get its due in the state’s politics, is now unfolding as the backdrop of what promises to be a fierce battle between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Congress is fielding general secretary Priyanka Gandhi to formally launch its campaign on Monday in a bid to replicate the success of its Karnataka guarantees. Gandhi will pray at the banks of the Narmada at Gwarighat first, before she pays her respect to Rani Durgavati, Gond queen who took part in the freedom struggle in the 1500s.
On Saturday, in a glittering function, chief minister Shivraj Chauhan launched the benefits scheme for women, Laadli Behna Yojana from Jabalpur, which is the nerve centre of the region. Each of the 1.25 crore women beneficiaries are to be given Rs 1000 monthly.
The region has 38 seats, with the Congress winning 24 seats and the BJP 13. Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha says that under the Kamal Nath government, the region got due prominence. “We held a Cabinet meeting here in Jabalpur in February 2018, and there were four Cabinet ministers from the region,” Tankha says.
The BJP, on the other hand, is yet to have a minister from the region, say party insiders, and the Congress managed to win the mayoral elections of Jabalpur last year, the first time in 18 years.
Tankha says that the moment is ripe for the Congress. “Shivraj Chauhan has nothing new to say; the anger among people is palpable. Since the Bharat Jodo Yatra passed through Malwa, Jabalpur presents the perfect opportunity,” the lawmaker says.
Within the BJP, leaders admit that voter fatigue with Chauhan has set in. “There is some disenchantment, which is natural, but there is no anger like there was during Digvijaya’s time. Our booth structure is strong,” state president BD Sharma told DH.
A lawmaker from the state, who has been at the helm of affairs of the state unit in the past, said that the party is facing a tougher time than it did in 2018, when the Congress won only 5 more seats. An internal survey, sources said, showed a climbdown of more than a dozen seats.
The state unit is also looking at a problem of plenty – recently, to iron out differences, a meeting of two cabinet ministers from the state, union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Pralhad Joshi – was called in Bhopal. Dissent from within party ranks also has come up, with ministers and MLAs complaining publicly about each other.
Within the Congress, Tankha says that popular schemes may win the vote, but the party needs to look further. “We need to look forward and build a township on the outskirts of Jabalpur, the people here need jobs.”