Chhattisgarh, one of the recent entrants to the Union of India, recently held their elections and the current incumbent chief minister Raman Singh had lost the plot. The BJP could not retain this state in the heart of the Hindi heartland and with good reason – given the fact that this state was an epicenter of Maoist based terrorist attacks for a while, it was but natural for this small landlocked state to express a high state of dissatisfaction.  Incidentally, Chhattisgarh was also the only state to have its Vidhan Sabha elections in two phases as opposed to other states where it was conducted in a single phase. It should also be pointed out that second to Narendra Modi, our honorable prime minister, the ex-Chief Minister Raman Singh also happens to be the longest serving chief minister of any state and had completed 5000 days in office, last August. As the votes were counted, it soon became evident that the Congress party, which had won 68 seats as opposed to BJP’s 15 seats, soon staked claim to form the government.

Misrule of Congress Government in Chhattisgarh under Ajit Jogi:

Given the current circumstances, it would do good to remember the last time that Congress ruled the state with Ajit Jogi at the helm and his apparent misrule which resulted in a BJP landslide victory a while back. Ever since the state was first created in 2000, the person nominated for the top most post in the state was none other than ex-congress stalwart Ajit Jogi. It was during his tenure, which saw Chhattisgarh utterly misgoverned where the focus was more on looting the state treasury than in doing anything meaningful on the ground. It should also be pointed out this state which was subject to several naxal attacks, took little measures to protect the local populace. And if that was not enough, as the 2003 saw the imminent exit of Ajit Jogi, he soon tried to bribe a few local BJP MLAs to form a breakaway faction and assured them of congress support from outside.

Naturally, this had upset the first family of the Congress party and one that led to his suspension from the party. It didn’t end there, police arrested both father and son duo by 2007 with the 2003 alleged murder charges of NCP treasurer Ram Avatar. That, it seems was the final straw and Ajit Jogi knew that his chances in the congress party soon came to a dead stop. As a result, he soon quit the congress party for good, and kick started his own party –Janata Congress Chhattisgarh Party. And the 2018 assembly elections were the first time that Ajit Jogi stood for elections, under the banner of his new party. It had minimal impact at best which only goes on to show you that the public at large may forgive anything including open rampant corruption but a total disregard for public health and welfare, the buck stops with the man who had been in charge, once upon a time, and a long time ago.

Achievement of Dr Raman Singh:

And with the exit of Ajit Jogi in 2003, Dr Raman Singh was elected with a landslide victory that was an early indicator to people’s disenchantment with the Congress rule. Dr. Raman Singh, one of the second longest serving Chief Ministers managed a state that was beset with Maoists and a dispirited agrarian population. Nevertheless, he managed this effectively and in the process, managed to encapsulate the fact that he was and still continues to be popular today. Some of his achievements include –

• Increasing the budget of the state from a paltry 7000 crore to a massive 78000 crore as a result of industrial investment and outlay
• Undertaking effective measures against about Naxal and Maoist based terror
• Providing over 58 lakh families with basic amenities such as rice, salt and gram at extremely cheap rates
• Farmers provided with loans at zero percent interest
• Purchasing over 5.6 metric tons of paddy, and helping farmers get paid 53000 crores for the same
• 25 lakh women and more were provided with free LPG connection under his tenure
• Under the Saur Sujala Yogna, 51 poor families to be provided with solar irrigation pumps at 5 HP, 3 HP and at subsidized rates

What To Expect From Congress Rule In Chhattisgarh?

Now, that the Congress party has laid claim to form the government, it is important that we take a closer look at the past governments that the Congress party had formed so as to gauge what lies ahead for this troubled state. Given that the congress party operates as a personal fiefdom of the Gandhi Parivar, it is but to be expected that any CM chosen would be following the diktats laid by the central leadership. In other words, the CM would not be allowed to take any independent decisions and at most, he would be a signature CM at best, seconding all the decisions that the central leadership would take in the state.

But what is expected is that the Congress party would soon put an end to most of the schemes that the BJP had announced. It is ironic to see that the public had voted for a party that would do it best to spend time and effort to delay public services and schemes that would have benefitted the electorate that voted them in. Most of the schemes that the BJP had announced have already been in action and reaching out to people of Chhattisgarh without any commission agent in between. So it remains to be seen if the incoming Congress government would be vindictive as usual, and remove all these schemes entirety, but it would not surprise anyone if that were to happen tomorrow. But some of the future problems that we may and should expect are –

• Budget being mismanaged
• Central government schemes being derailed or discontinued
• Efforts to curb all forms of terror attacks including Maoism, being limited or restricted
• No new schemes to be initiated
• Lack of adequate governance, given its track record in the state
• Commission in allotting state government work
• Corruption and scams

One Of The Alerting Issue Will Be Line ‘Resurgence Of Maoist’:

With the Congress, once again at the helm, it is no wonder that naxals in and around the state of Chhattisgarh would be breathing a little easier. Rahul Gandhi, the current president of the Congress party, had once too often sided with the naxals as their sympathizer and even objected to various Maoist ideologues being arrested quite recently for treason. Some of the ex-naxal leaders, their keen and naxal sympathizer were inducted in the state committee of AP and Telangana congress.

For it is a well known fact that the Gandhi family often goes out of its way to take the limelight away from other political parties and that includes whitewashing over the history of the last CM and his achievements. Classic example will be their act of removing all Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s banner post 2004 election win and Mani Shankar Iyer autocratically removed Veer Savarkar Plaque from Andaman jail. The sad and pathetic part is that the Congress party which had lost most of its top leaders to a Maoist ambush in May 25, 2013, may well now enable the beleaguered terrorist group to strengthen and build up its base. Recent Maoist letters, posted at public places only makes it apparent that the Naxals are not yet exterminated and that the problem may well continue to plague the state or some time to come. But what is both shocking and illuminative of the fact that the Congress leadership and its inner core has little idea on how to communicate better with tribal population or to resolve the naxal terror is the fact that the party is more interested in opposing anything and everything connected with the BJP, for opposition’s sake and not for anything else.

Conversion of Innocent Adivasi:

It is remarkable that a state could be set upon by so many issues and at the same time but that seems to be the case with Chhattisgarh. It is widely known that Missionaries, at some of the remote places in India often try to convert tribal population to Christianity. And while it should be pointed out that converting a person from one faith to another is not against the law, per se, it is nevertheless one that is bound to cause communal discord. It should be pointed out that Graham Staines, a Christian missionary was burnt alive in his car with his 9 and 10 year old sons in their car, in 1999. The main protagonist in their murder was Dara Singh, and his sole motive was to prevent the missionary from converting anyone. This should tell you that people across India have extremely strong feelings where conversion is concerned and Chhattisgarh is no exception to this.

To put it in perspective, there has been a marked rise (by about 8%) in number of tribal men and women, converting to Christianity over the last few years. At this rate, it is expected that most of the tribal population in and around Chhattisgarh would have become Christianized. It should be pointed out that a tribal is free to choose whichever religion or faith that he prefers, at any time. And the statement, by a sitting minister only served to further complicate matters where he is ‘alleged’ to have issued threats to those who may consider converting from Hindu to Christianity. One can certainly expect more of such conversions to take place, under the helm of the newly elected Congress government.

Ransacking Of Developed and Moneyed Chhattisgarh State Exchequer:

Chhattisgarh which had a BP dispensation ruling the roost for the last thirteen years, recently saw New Raipur or Naya Raipur being established. The new Raipur soon become a beacon of development as it soon outstripped most cities across India in terms of its facilities or the fact that it was planned as a green city. Today, the city stands out as a model for developed cities and moreover Andhra Pradesh has taken its cue from Raipur to develop its own new Amaravati.

But since the election results were announced, it is feared that the New Raipur may soon be looted of its resources, and that it would no longer be the green and developed Raipur, that all its residents had been used to, so far. Similarly, revenues collected from the development work will be credited to congress accounts as they have history of doing it. And till the arrival of next election Dr. Raman Singh might be awarded state with dry treasury and list of scams.

Extortion from Industrial Houses:

What had started alarm bells ringing in New Delhi power corridors early this year is the increasing frequency with which Individuals from select top performing companies are being extorted both by Naxals and Congress. A recent investigation revealed the modus operandi where Maoists were targeting big industrial houses in mineral rich Chhattisgarh to bleed them of much needed cash and in the process, utilize the extortion money to fund their activities. The fact that most or all of the payment is liquid cash only makes this apparent.

The results of the recent election may well embolden these Maoists to beef up their extortion racket and if that was not bad enough, there is the fact that the incoming government shows little inclination to tackle this red menace and the extortion, from all accounts, is set to continue further.

Hampering of Development Rate:

By all accounts, it seems that Chhattisgarh is one of the fastest growing states with a growth of 6.7% in 2017. It has certainly managed to put other states to shame and of all the states, happens to be the one leading the pack. But now, it is expected that this growth rate may well climb down and soon at that. Given the fact that the incoming Congress government may well go out of its way to derail any central government scheme, it is expected that as a result, investment in the state, including FDI may well dry up. This can lead to a boomerang effect, with impact across all sectors from education to health. It remains to be seen if the state would accept its destiny with sang-froid and a splatter of nonchalance.

Congress and Delivery of Tall Promises in Chhattisgarh:

It is expected that come every election, political parties make a slew of announcements that they have little or no intention of keeping. Of all the parties, the Congress is the one which holds the record for making tall promises, like the 10 day loan waiver both in Karnataka and Punjab. And while the congress made these announcements to win the state assembly elections, and the fact that a Congress backed regime is in power in Karnataka and a Congress regime in Punjab, they are yet to act on their announcement. You would be hard put to lay the same claim at BJP’s door and it is a fact that the Congress party has a long record, over 40 years for making tall promises and then conveniently forgetting about the same.

What should be telling is the ludicrous lengths that they would go to attract more voters and the recent elections in Chhattisgarh is but a stark reminder of the fact that politicians and moralities often have little in common. To put it in perspective, recently, the Congress party announced a full month stipend to over 10 lakh unemployed in the state and as to where the Congress leadership plans to get money for the same is anybody’s guess.

Who Should Take The Onus If Promises Are Not Delivered?

Now, that the election results are out and the Congress is forming the government, all eyes remain on the same to see if and how they deliver on their tall promises. If the new government had the magnetism of both DR. Raman Singh and PM Narendra Modi to attract more investment into the state, then they may manage to get it done. But sadly, they do not and when the Congress government does a U turn and fails to deliver on yet another one of its tall promises, who then should be held responsible?

Naturally, the Congress party and of course, the public that voted them in which leaves us with the inherent question about accountability? Would Rahul Gandhi resign from the congress leadership or fire the new CM in the waiting, if the promises aren’t delivered on? That remains to be seen but one thing is for sure –as far as the voters for Chhattisgarh are concerned, the picture is far from rosy and it is going to take a lot to push back the state to the investment agenda of most companies. The BJP may have lost the recent election but it can take pride in the fact that it managed to run a tight ship despite the various issues that had come its way.

The future for both the state and its people may look a bit bleak at the moment; some of the current government schemes may well be stopped in its tracks and that is bound to cause more hardship to the public. This is why you need to take care when you are exercising your franchise and make sure that you are indeed selecting the right man for the job. Either way, Chhattisgarh recently took part in a democratic exercise, which in itself is remarkable for a state that is continuously beset by the red menace. It is time that we all accepted the verdict of the people for nothing trumps that, ever.