Jogi versus Jogi

Development, the BJP claims, has been largely due to central funds and schemes (such as the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana) for which Jogi is taking false credit.

The truth is that the infrastructure in Chhattisgarh is far superior to that in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh. Barring a few stretches, the roads are good; the state has surplus power; and water supply has improved in urban and rural areas.

But ask the common man, and your are not likely to hear hosannas to development. It is only on being closely questioned that they grudgingly admit that ponds have been dug as part of an extensive rain-harvesting scheme, new roads have been laid. The common refrain is: ‘‘Kaam to hua hai, par… (work has been done, but then).

As campaign draws to a close, even these admissions are growing faint. Uma, a housewife in Vijaybara basti in rural Raipur, complains: ‘‘Hamare yahan to kuch vikas nahin hua hai’’ (there has been no development here), pointing to the overflowing drains and garbage heaps. That drains and garbage clearance are the job of the local municipality and not the state government hardly matter to her. Her entire family voted for the Congress in 1998 but this time they won’t.

One reason why the BJP’s campaign against Jogi’s rule (which they liken to an undeclared Emergency) seems to be working is the haste in which development projects were implemented across the state and Jogi’s over-projection of himself. In case of ponds (dabri), for instance, villagers complain that they were not compensated for their land. They also point to the siphoning of funds from the food-for-work programmes and the government’s failure to buy paddy at the support price, forcing farmers to sell at a loss in the open market.

But these are stray strands in the larger tapestry that Jogi seems to have woven around himself. For the past three years, he has consistently tried to project himself rather than the Congress — even the village pond scheme is informally called ‘Jogi Dabri Yojana’. This has made it easier for the opposition to target him rather than the party. The Congress still has large pockets of traditional support across the state where illiterate adivasis haven’t heard of Vajpayee but still remember Indira Gandhi. The chief minister maintains that the ‘‘hate Jogi’’ campaign, fuelled by vested upper caste interests who loathe his pro-poor development agenda, will consolidate his support base. Whether that translates into victory for the party, the results will tell.