Chhattisgarh polls: Ahead of PM Modi's rally, a look at hurdles before BJP in the state

Chhattisgarh assembly polls: BJP holds 13 seats while the Congress holds 71in the assembly.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address his first rally for the upcoming Chhattisgarh assembly polls in Maoist-hit Kanker district on November 2 amid a plethora of challenges faced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

According to BJP insiders, Modi will arrive in an Indian Air Force aircraft at the Raipur airport at 1.55 pm and leave for Kanker in a helicopter. His rally is scheduled to be held at 3 pm. According to PTI, a multi-layered security blanket, comprising personnel of the state police and paramilitary force besides the Special Protection Group (SPG), has been put in place in the area, located around 150 km from the capital Raipur in the north Bastar region.

Ahead of the assembly polls, this will be the PM’s first rally in the state. He is likely to release the BJP manifesto in Kanker. The elections in Chhattisgarh will be held in two phases on November 7 and November 17.

Let us take a look at the challenges ahead for BJP in the poll-bound state.

Hurdles in the state

According to News18, the BJP cadres on the ground are facing various issues such as paucity of funds and lack of direction.

From scarcity of funds to lack of direction, BJP leaders and candidates on the ground are facing various challenges. The tribal candidates in Bastar are facing a financial crunch too, according to News18. Most leaders feel that the Chhattisgarh election is being fought in the name of PM Modi and the party. It has also not announced a chief ministerial face.

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“Our party fought faceless elections in Bengal and Karnataka. In both states, we lost. People want to know who they are voting for. They want to know about the CM face. But we do not have an answer, and we always seek votes in the name of Modiji. This works for general elections, but for the state elections, we need to know the leader and people need to know the projected CM. It is becoming increasingly difficult for us to convince people,” another senior leader from the Bastar region told News18.

Of the 20 constituencies voting in the first phase on November 7, eight are in the Durg division and 12 in Bastar. All these 20 seats, barring former CM Raman Singh’s Rajnandgaon, are held by the Congress.

Congress in pole position

The BJP was in power in Chhattisgarh for 15 years under the leadership of Raman Singh. However, it suffered a massive defeat at the hands of Congress in the 2018 assembly polls.

Strong anti-incumbency, charges of corruption, lack of coordination between party organisation and the government led by it and OBCs voting in favour of the Congress were attributed as some of the reasons for its defeat. Currently, BJP holds 13 seats while the Congress holds 71. According to many, pro-farmer schemes of the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government may prove to be a big challenge for the BJP. Three flagship schemes - Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana, Godhan Nyay Yojana (cow dung procurement schemes) and Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Bhomihin Krishi Majdoor Nyay Yojana - have helped the Congress to consolidate its position in rural and semi-urban areas of the state.

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The Congress has been banking on its record of delivering on key issues such as a paddy production bonus, an unemployment allowance, and various welfare programmes.