Promise to waive farm loan tilted scale

The Congress, which was out of power for 15 years in mineral-rich Chhattisgarh, staged a stunning comeback yesterday, courtesy a key promise to waive off bank loans to millions of farmers who were reeling from steep debts.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bit the dust in its bastion as it refused to honour its commitment to help out farmers in a state that is categorised as the rice bowl of the country. And insiders admitted that the arrogance and deep-rooted corruption in the rank and file of the BJP government scripted its crushing defeat.

Former chief minister Ajit Jogi, who had aligned with the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Communist Party of India in a bid to win a few seats to use it as a bargaining chip in the case of a hung Assembly, was left high and dry because of the landslide victory of the Congress. The Congress is expected to win a two-third majority in the 90-member Assembly. With counting over in only one seat, officials said the BJP tally was expected to drop steeply from 49 in the outgoing house to 18 or 19, while the Congress strength would zoom from 39 to 45-50.

Analysts say that the Congress promise to write off bank loans of farmers within 10 days of coming to power and give a massive hike in minimum support price (MSP) and slash power tariff up to 50 per cent were the prime reasons for the Congress win and the downfall of BJP’s longest-serving Chief Minister Raman Singh, who began his political career in 1983 as a councillor.

Bhupesh Baghel, the Congress party’s prime face for chief ministership and incumbent president of the state unit of the party, said: “People wanted change as BJP fooled every community.”