Ranchi, Dec 11: The politics in Chhattisgarh has never been tribal-centric. Unlike Jharkhand, there had been no vociferous demand to put a tribal leader at the helm.
When Chhattisgarh was created along with Jharkhand in 2000, Ajit Jogi, whose tribal identity was debunked later on, became the chief minister. Thereafter, the BJP picked up Raman Singh who led the state for 15 years followed by five years of Bhupesh Baghel, an OBC.
So, political analysts were quick to see Vishnu Deo Sai’s appointment as the BJP’s master strategy to consolidate its support base among tribals in the country ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections.
Ripple effect in tribal areas
“The elevation of Vishnu Deo Sai as Chhattisgarh chief minister will create a ripple effect in the tribal-dominated areas of Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand, where the BJP is faced with strong regional parties,” pointed out a senior BJP leader.
Also read: Vishnu Deo Sai takes oath as Chhattisgarh Chief Minister
Notably, the BJP won 17 of the 29 seats reserved for scheduled tribes in Chhattisgarh in the assembly elections this year. In 2018, the party had won only two of these seats. The saffron party also bagged a sizeable number of tribal seats in Madhya Pradesh as well as in Rajasthan in this state elections. In Madhya Pradesh, the party has won 24 of the 47 tribal reserved seats, 13 out of 25 in Rajasthan. These three states account for 31 per cent of the country’s tribal population.
In all three states, MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, the tribals had deserted the BJP in large numbers in 2018.
BJP eyes 47 ST reserved seats
The 47 seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha are spread across 17 states. The BJP has 27 MPs among them. Besides, tribal voters have significant numbers to determine the electoral outcome in 82 other parliamentary constituencies.
A BJP leader said that winning over tribal communities is the key to consolidating the base in eastern India, where the party has 36 Lok Sabha MPs across Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.
In Jharkhand, the BJP’s loss in the 2019 assembly polls was mainly attributed to the tribal anger against the saffron brigade owing to wrong policy decisions against tribals by the then Raghubar Das government.
More than 26 per cent of Jharkhand’s population is tribal; 28 of its 81 assembly seats are reserved for STs. The JMM- Congress combine grabbed 25 of these seats in 2019 assembly elections.
So, the BJP has learned from its 2019 defeat. It re-inducted former CM Babulal Marandi within two months of its electoral loss in 2019. Former CM Raghubar Das, a non-tribal, has been appointed Odisha governor ostensibly a graceful exit for him from active politics to give Marandi a free hand to reclaim the tribal vote base in Jharkhand.
Long list of initiatives
The BJP has a long list of initiatives for the development of tribals. First, there are eight tribal ministers in the Modi cabinet. The BJP picked up Droupadi Murmu, a Santhali from Odisha, as the President of India. It has begun celebrating tribal culture to counter religious conversions and building a nationalistic tribal identity by emphasising the Modi government’s efforts to recognise tribal icons and their struggles.
Also, tribal icon Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary was declared to be celebrated as Janjatiye Gaurav Diwas.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi (the first time for a PM) came to Birsa Munda’s birthplace Ulihatu in Jharkhand’s Khunti district to pay tributes on his birth anniversary.
Similarly, the Jabalpur railway station in Madhya Pradesh was renamed after tribal queen Rani Durgavati. On November 1, 2022, Modi visited Mangarh Dham in Rajasthan and declared it as a national monument. He paid tribute to Bhil freedom fighter Govind Guru.
This is all in addition to various development projects, including the promotion of agro-forestry, push for natural farming and its linkages with the market through the Centre’s vocal for local initiatives. Also, Eklavya schools, a residential school for tribals are being set up on the pattern of Navodaya Vidyalayas. The TRIFED, run by the Tribal Affairs Ministry, is functional where tribals across the country have a market to sell their products.
Besides, the Modi government launched a Rs 24,000-crore plan to take existing schemes to the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) on November 15 from Jharkhand. This includes 11 interventions through existing schemes and the aim to build 490,000 pucca homes, lay 8,000 km of roads and bring piped water to all households in 22,000 PVTG villages.
How we propagate our achievements?
“Now, it is all about how we sell our steps taken by the Modi government for the development of tribals and reviving the unsung tribal heroes of the country, generally neglected by academicians and writers,” said a senior tribal leader, adding that all these steps are reviving the pride of tribals in their heritage.
Agriculture and Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said, “The people are seeing how much honour the BJP is giving to the Janjatiya community. It is also a big responsibility for Adivasis to contribute to the nation building”.
“And it is a real effort to bring the Janjatiya community to the mainstream. It had never been done before,” he maintained.
Rashtra politics vs. caste politics
Jharkhand BJP president Babulal Marandi says, “The JMM, or for that matter other political parties, have always cheated tribals. They indulge in caste politics. The BJP, on the other hand, is doing ‘Rashtra politics’ where every community has a role to play,” he asserts.
‘Tribals a vote bank for Congress’
Arun Oraon, an IPS officer-turned BJP politician said, “The parties earlier used to take tribal votes but never shared power with them. It is Prime Minister Modi who is giving them their due.”
Oraon, who was earlier associated with the Congress and deployed in Chhattisgarh in the 2018 elections, said that the Congress had got a massive mandate in the tribal areas of Sarguja and Bastar and yet picked up an OBC (Bhupesh Baghel) to lead the state. “The Congress always used them as a vote bank,” he maintained.
“On the other hand, the BJP has recognised and picked up several competent and honest tribal leaders and promoted them to build the nation strong and inclusive,” he asserted.
