For a party that rose like a phoenix from the dreaded 2013 Naxal attack that virtually wiped off the entire top brass of its state unit, this year’s Chhattisgarh Assembly Election is no ordinary test for the charismatic Congress leader and incumbent Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. While the turnaround after the Jeeram Ghati attack in Jagdalpur saw the Congress coming back in power in 2018, this year’s battleground is largely centered around Baghel.
Back in 2018, the party had not floated a chief ministerial candidate, but now, everything is about the work and words of Baghel. Tasked with a mammoth job to rebuild the party ranks after the ghastly attack on its leadership, Baghel has not only consolidated the stature of the Congress in the state but also led Chhattisgarh on the path of development.
A master of his craft
Born on August 23, 1961, Baghel (62) has over three decades of political experience behind him. Having embarked on his political career in 1990 as a youth Congress leader in Durg, Baghel has won Assembly elections five times – in 1993, 1998, 2003, 2013 and 2018.
A strong leader of the masses, Baghel is credited with not only rebuilding the party in the state that was carved out of Madhya Pradesh but also displacing the BJP government from power after 15 years of its rule. In the 2018 elections, the Congress swept to power, winning 68 of the 90 Assembly seats and limiting the incumbent government to a paltry 15 seats.
Checking all boxes
If one looks at the economic parameters, Chhattisgarh checks all the right boxes. According to the government data, the state administration has been able to bring 40 lakh people out of poverty. According to Baghel, Chhattisgarh has a fiscal deficit much below the central mandate. The official data says that Chhattisgarh has a fiscal deficit of 3 per cent under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act. When it comes to debt, Chhattisgarh has 16 per cent of the GDP as against the mandated limit of 25 per cent. This means that the state has performed exceedingly well in terms of all RBI parameters.
Over the past four and a half years, Baghel has also been at forefront of the launch of several farmer-friendly schemes and programmes in the state which has nearly 70 per cent of the population involved in agriculture. The 2018 loan-waiver proved to be a gamechanger for the Congress. Additionally, the Baghel administration also increased the MSP on paddy. Further, procurement of paddy at an increased rate has also made the CM popular among the farming community.
In comparison with the previous governments, the Baghel administration has bought more rice. As against 55 metric tonne previously, the Congress government bought 107 lakh metric tonne rice. Apart from the farming community, Baghel has also worked in the field of education. The state government now provides free school education under the Mahtari Dular Yojana to those children who lost their parents in the coronavirus pandemic.
Countering Left Wing Extremism
As per the NITI Aayog data of 2020-21, Chhattisgarh has ranked among the best performers in the field of gender equality. While the issue of Naxalism persists, the state government has claimed a marked reduction in incidents of Left Wing Extremism. As per the data released by the Baghel government on October 2, LWE incidents have seen a 52 per cent decline in Chhattisgarh over the last five years.
The government further claimed that 589 villages have been freed from the clutches of Naxalism and credited the Baghel government’s motto of ‘Gadhbo Nava Chhattisgarh’ (creating a new Chhattisgarh) for the turnaround.
“As many as 314 schools which were shut for one-and-a-half decades due to Naxal violence have been reopened with the CM’s initiative. Besides, 589 villages and more than 5.74 lakh people have been freed from the clutches of Naxal violence during this period,” the government said, adding that crimes against women have reduced by 40 per cent between 2019 and now.
Bhupesh Baghel to return as CM?
Opinion polls so far suggest that the Congress party may be on course to storm back to power for a second successive term. As per the latest round of the India Today-CVoter opinion poll for Chhattisgarh, the Congress is projected to win 51 of the 90 Assembly seats in the state. The BJP, on the other hand, may be limited to 38 seats, the survey found.
The findings are in tune with opinion poll surveys carried out by different research outlets over the past few months. The Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections are expected to be held in November this year. The Election Commission of India is expected to announce the poll schedule for the state any day now. In 2018, the poll panel had announced the election schedule on October 6. Polling was held in two phases in the state on November 12 and November 20. The results were announced on December 11.