Falls short on performance?

Raman Singh is a familiar face in his constituency but voters wish he visited them less and concentrated more on development

elections, it also earned him the title of ‘chawal wale baba’ among people here. Other than that, there have been a string of populist measures — a ₹21 crore astro-turf, an indoor basketball stadium, an agriculture and horticulture college and a promised sports university and medical college.

What is more, unlike his counterparts in other states, Singh visited his constituency once every month till 2012, and twice a month since January. People are used to the sight of the portly CM in his full-sleeved shirt and trousers, zipping in and out with his Z plus security.

“The frequent visits have brought him (Singh) closer to the people,” says academician Ankit Chouhan.

Others, however, point out that familiarity is one thing and efficiency is quite the other.

The roads are a mess, the ambitious drinking water scheme, Jal avardhan Yojana, is yet to start and the monthly ‘jandarshan’ or mass contact programme, which began with much fanfare, a complete flopshow.

“Majority of the development programmes are dogged by massive corruption and substandard work,” says city mayor Naresh Dakaliya. “If it drizzles, the famous basketball court turns into a swimming pool.”

The District Congress president Vinod Goswami points out that Singh could not get a single industry to set up shop here, even though he had represented Rajnandgaon as an MP earlier and the Central commerce and industry minister. “Now, in Raman raj, BJP corporators have become contractors,” Goswami told HT.