Early Mover Advantage?
Raman Singh’s statewide tour aims to remind voters of his development work
Six months ahead of assembly elections, Chhattisgarh’s threetime chief minister is out there, trying to work his ‘magic’ for a fourth consecutive victory. Paid for by the state exchequer, Raman Singh’s ‘Vikas (development) Yatra’ is employing a combination of state aircraft and a remodelled luxury vehicle to traverse the state.
Flagged off by Union home minister Rajnath Singh from Dantewada on May 12, the first phase of the yatra will culminate a month later, when BJP president Amit Shah joins a roadshow at Ambikapur on June 10. The second phase, slated for end-August, will press on until the Election Commission enforces the poll code.
Moving from village to village, Singh’s motorcade stops at the nearest block headquarters to address people, reminding them of the development he’s steered over the past 15 years, such as the Mukhyamantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana bringing health insurance to 5.5 million families, one rupee a kilo rice to ration card holders and monetary assistance for education and marriages.
His journey is neatly timed with the direct benefit transfer of bonuses to paddy farmers and tendu leaf pluckers as he passes through their villages. Every time the chief minister visits an area, he emerges out of his vehicle on a hydraulic chair to announce projects addressing local problems. “In nearly 15 years, I have not fought on any other plank. I avoid politics based on religion or caste,” Singh tells india today.
Singh’s Vikas Yatra will cover 67 of Chhattisgarh’s 90 assembly constituencies. He is leaving out 11 urban seats in Raipur, Bilaspur and Durg cities, besides a dozen seats that have long been citadels of the Congress. The constituencies to be covered in the first phase include two seats where the BJP expects to swing things its way.
While on the road, Singh is reportedly also gathering feedback on the performance of his MLAs. Insiders say the information will be used to decide the allocation of tickets.
Singh’s outing has understandably spawned criticism from the opposition, with the Congress announcing a ‘Vikas Dhoondo (Where’s the development?) Yatra’. Congress legislature party chief T.S. Singhdeo has debunked Singh’s road trip as a “blatant misuse of public funds and government machinery”. Alluding to the virtual absence of Congress workers on the ground, Singh retorts that the Congress should organise a “Congress Dhoondo Yatra”.
Singh is aware of the challenge he faces—in the 2013 assembly elections, the Congress’s vote share was a mere 0.75 per cent lower than the BJP’s. This time, there’s the added threat from Ajit Jogi’s Janta Congress Chhattisgarh, which has been drawing larger crowds than the Congress. Even on May 17, when Rahul Gandhi flew down to address the party’s show at Pendra in Bilaspur.
67 of the state’s 90 constituencies will be covered in the chief minister’s yatra