CHATTISGARH ELECTION 2008

FIELD VISIT REPORT OF MPG-04

The participants of the MPG 04

visited Chattisgarh, a newly

created state of India. The

state was preparing rigorously

for the third General Assembly

Elections scheduled in

November 2008. Chattisgarh is

the 9th biggest state of India

having vibrant culture,

cosmopolitan nature, natural resources, big chunk of tribal civilized

population and gender equality. This motivated the participants to know

more about the political and social scenario of the state.

The field visit was scheduled from 9 to 14th of November 2008, during

the peak of the election campaign. The team visited four districts of the

state namely Bhilai, Raipur,

Rajnandgaon and Mahasamund.

In these four districts MIT-SOG

study group interacted with

populace of nine constituencies,

namely; Bhilai city, Vaishali

Nagar, Rajnandgaon, Arang,

Abhanpur, Raazim, Raipur Rural,

Kurud and Durg Rural.

In the first day of their trip, the

participants visited the office of

the Deshbandhu, a popular

newspaper of the Chattisgarh. The

owner and editor of the

newspaper, Mr. Lalit Surjan,

shared the socio-economic and

political fabric of Chattisgarh and

informed the group about the

history, geography, diverse culture, and cosmopolitan nature of the

state. Mr. Surjan’s interaction had given a brief background of the

political landscape of Chattisgarh that equipped them to analyse the

study field more realistically. During the tour the participants interacted

with various leaders, attended election campaigns and rallies of several

contestants and conducted an inclusive survey of the Chattisgarh people.

The leaders with whom they interacted include the Governor of

Chattisgarh, His Excellency

E. S. L. Narasimhan. His

Excellency explained to the

MIT-SOG team that career in

politics is neither easy nor

attractive. He elaborated on

what one should focus while

pursuing the political

leadership career.

In his speech he explained his

views on development and

encouraged the participants to

become more ethical, efficient

and output driven, which

according to him is the need of the

hour.

The team interacted with the

Chief Minister of Chattisgarh Dr. Raman Singh at his guesthouse. Dr.

Raman Singh seems to be the leader who always seen in the midst of the

common people, constantly accessible and available to them. Perhaps

this could be the reason for his positive image.

Dr. Raman Singh found to be dynamic, a motivator of his team,

comfortable in all groups and a leader who initiates innovation. The other

noteworthy leaders with whom the group interacted includes, Shri Prem

Prakash Pandey, Speaker of Chattisgarh, Ms Saroj Pandey the BJP

contestant from Vaishali Nagar constituency and former mayor of Kurd,

Mr. Uday Mudaliyar, the congress opponent of Dr. Raman Singh, Mr. Ajay

Chandrakar, who was the education

minister of the outgoing Government

and BJP contestant from Kurud, Mr.

Devendra Verma, Secretary of

Chattisgarh Vidhan Sabha and Mr.

Vidhyacharan Shukla, a veteran

congress leader and former Chief

Minister of Madya Pradesh.

Mr. Vidyacharan Shukla, an

experienced person who had

witnessed two generations of Indian

politics, expressed his concern over

the changing political culture of India

and stressed the need to have a

proactive youth participation in the

political process. These interactions

undoubtedly bestowed the practical leadership lessons to the participants

of MIT-SOG.

The Chattisgarh trip also enabled the MPG-04 batch to have direct

experience of election campaigns and rallies. The participants attended,

witnessed and experienced the campaigns and rallies of Mr. Rahul

Gandhi, Ms. Saroj Pandey, Mr. Ajay Chandrakar, Shri Raman Singh, and

Shri Uday Mudaliyar.

This taught them the

fundamentals of organising a

rally and efficient

management of an election

campaign. The team also visited

the Chattisgarh Vidhan Sabha,

and informed about the

functioning of it in details.

The participants also visited

Rajkumar College, a place of

historical importance, in

Chattisgarh’s history, where

first Assembly of the state

was held. The visit to Sirpur

and Rajim depicted the

vibrant cultural heritage,

natural beauty, architectural excellence, simplicity and uniqueness of

rural village life of Chattisgarh.

Participants also got an opportunity to visit Lord Buddha’s monasteries

established by his followers. The Sirpur village comprised of many

temples on the banks of the river Mahanadi. The team visited Laxman

temple, which is one of the rare temples in India of its kind. The team

also visited a Jain temple in Nagarpura, situated in Durg district.

During the visit to various constituencies the MIT SOG team got enough

opportunity to interact with political and other experts, academicians,

political activists, senior citizens,

tribal folk and people from

different caste groups, gender

and youths.

The one-to-one interaction with

local peoples in nine

constituencies equipped the

participants to predict the election results of those constituencies and

also to dig out the key issues disturbing the populace of that region. Out

of the nine constituencies visited, 90% of the MPG-04 participant’s

prediction favoured BJP contestants except two constituencies. Based on

the sample collected they also predicted the state level results as well.

Chhattisgarh field visit portrayed

the main poll issues of

development, more specifically

the issues of price rise,

unemployment, agricultural

development, public distribution

system, hygiene & sanitation,

electricity, education, and

industries. Both Congress and BJP promised through their manifesto to

distribute rice to BPL families at lower cost. (Rs.1/kg by (BJP) and

Rs.2/Kg by (Cong).) The land acquisition for industrialisation by the

earlier government caused some disgruntle among the farmers. Congress

claimed that it would not allow any persons from any other states to buy

land and BJP manifesto mentioned that one could acquire land only with

farmer’s consent.

The common public in Chattisgarh seems to be more matured, as their

voting preferences are based on candidate’s efficiency record and

credibility rather than party affiliation or ideology.

The Chhattisgarh election

prediction of MPG-04

participants is that BJP will

get a clear majority in the

coming elections, but their

vote share difference will be

very minute. All the five

groups of participants

predicted that BJP appear to

have an added advantage

over Congress and will get a majority. At the same time, the participants

envisaged that Congress might acquire some additional seats in the

assembly compared to what they got in the last elections.

In their view, the factors that are working in favour of BJP are Dr Raman

Singh’s charisma, clean image and popularity. He is very simple,

approachable and accessible. BJP is very successful in projecting him,

whereas Congress had not yet declared their prospective candidate for

the Chief Minister’s position.

The presence of BSP would cut

some of the Congress votes,

which is going to play a

decisive role in the election

results. Dr Raman Singh’s

organisational skills and

innovations are proved again

when BJP decided to give

tickets to many new candidates in this election, as 18 of the sitting MLA’s

and some of the ministers were not given tickets on accusation of

corruption and criminal charges. In this way BJP has prevented anti-

incumbency factor. Internal conflicts within congress leadership and the

mistake of not declaring or projecting their Chief Ministerial candidate

may go against the Congress party.

The BJP manifesto, which comprised of the scheme of Rs. 1 per kilo rice,

would become a major crowd pulling factor among the poor people and

slum- dwelling population. The projection of the developmental work

done by the current government of the BJP has been another positive

factor which would create an impact on the people to vote for the party.

Politics in Chattisgarh seems to be unaffected by the internal threats of

Naxalites and Maoists which proves the state’s unity and determination to

fight against Naxalism or factionalism.

Participants got

an opportunity

to learn the

most important

lesson that

‘people’s

participation is

crucial for the

successful

implementation of various governmental policies or developmental

programs. This literarily explains the definition of democracy;

‘Government of the people, for the people and by the people’.

Chattisgarh analysis highlighted the fact that caste or tribal identity or

the ideology of the political party or the leader is not the major

influencing factor in the success, but the effective performance and

efficiency of a government or the leader. The trip taught them that in

democratic settings, not only the excellent leadership traits, which

dictate the triumph of a leader but also the group dynamics and the spirit

of teamwork. The MPG-04 batch returned from Chattisgarh with plenty

of practical experience, which no one can accomplish them within the

four walls of the classroom.

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