A strange silence by majority of about 29 lakh voters of Chhattisgarh’s red zone, have increased the pulse and heartbeat of 143 candidates whose fate to be sealed in the first phase on Monday, Nov 11.
The ruling BJP and the main opposition Congress and even the political analysts have remained tight-lipped so far about making any projection and claims about the mood of the voters of 18 seats which will go to polls on Monday. The voting for the remaining 72 seats will be held in the second and the final phase on Nov 19.
The saffron party which is itching to score a hat-trick, desperately needs to hold on its number of seats which go to voting in the first phase while the Congress needs a strong comeback if it wants to stage a comeback in the state which has roughly 20 percent of India’s coal and iron ore deposits.
The BJP holds 15 out of the total 18 seats which are going to polls on Monday. The BJP had in 2003 won 11 seats of Bastar’s total 12 seats and four seats out of the total six seats of Rajnandgaon.
The first phase polling will decide the fate of several key leaders that include Chief Minister Raman Singh from Rajnandgaon and his three cabinet colleagues — Vikram Usendi from Antagarh, lata Usendi from Kondagaon and Kedar Kashyap from Narayanpur.
Chief Minister Raman Singh claims that his government is posed for a third term on the trot on basis of the performance of his Government in past one decade.
“Development is the key poll issue, I tried my level best to do the best service of the people and it’s their (voters) turn to decide,’’ Singh remarked on Saturday, soon after campaigning ended for 18 seats at 5 pm.
Meanwhile, the Congress’ key campaigner and former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi said, “the Congress is set to make a grand comeback in Chhattisgarh because the State has witnessed massive rise in Maoist violence and corruption scams during the BJP regime.”
The top personalities from both the BJP and the Congress raised the poll pitch since Thursday.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hit the campaign trail while BJP poster boy Narendra Modi, BJP patriarch lK Advani, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, party president Rajnath Singh, Venkaiah Naidu and Chief Minister Raman Singh made their last ditch efforts to woo voters in their favour.
Meanwhile, the boycott call given by Maoist insurgents has put a big question on holding fair and peaceful poll in the first phase despite the administration has deployed 400 companies of paramilitary forces in addition to the existing District Police force and central forces fighting insurgency in the area.
Chhattisgarh’s Director General of Police Ramniwas stated, “The best ever security arrangements have been put in place for first phase’s 18 seats where in interiors Maoists hold sway for about three decades’’.
More or less development, security, corruption and paddy bonus issues remained the focus of the poll planks of both the main parties in the first phase campaigning.
The BJP claims to have put the state in the fast lane of development by excelling in agriculture, expansion in irrigation facilities, power generation capacity, education facilities and facilitating communication movement by providing tablet/laptops to students, health for all through smart card scheme, food and nutrition security through the Food bill, loan for farming community at the rate of 1 percent interest, procurement of paddy with Rs 270 per quintal bonus besides other welfare schemes.
The opposition Congress not only pooh-poohed the assumption of the government on development asking it to justify its claims in view of its own figures of rising number of BPl families in the state and jeered on the issue of security arrangements for common man in the light of May 25 Jeeram carnage in which almost entire state Congress leadership was wiped out.
The Congress has also questioned the sincerity of the BJP government towards security of women, their empowerment and welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes sections by raising the Jhaliamari Ashram rape case in which several minor girls were sexually exploited for a prolonged period at a government-run boarding school.
The opposition promised not only to provide Rs 2000 minimum support price for paddy but also 35 kg rice free of cost to all except Income Tax payee, free power for irrigation, agricultural loan waiver besides relief to other sections as well. The opposition promised Tribal people to give them total right on Jal, Jungle and Jameen (Water, Forest and land)
Though, the 18 seats going to polls in the first phase are poised to see direct contests between the BJP and the Congress but dissidents from both sides have altered the game at many seats with fear of sabotage lurking all the way.
Some of the dissidents have even joined the fray as Independent candidates while other are making bids to settle the score by disturbing as many as votes as possible.
Former lok Sabha MP, Karuna Shukla, niece of former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and a potential dissident who quit BJP primary membership, made waves by joining the electioneering in support of Alka Mudliyar in Rajnadgaon against none other than Raman Singh.