Journalism of Courage
They may not be the two best known names in the Congress,but it is Charan Das Mahant and Ravindra Chaubey whose hoardings seek to compete with the huge election billboards of Raman Singh and Narendra Modi in Raipur. And though the number of their hoardings falls well short of those of the two BJP leaders in Raipur,the Congress has sought to compensate it elsewhere too.
It is the same hoardings,with pictures of Mahant and Chaubey announcing their partys promises to farmers,the poor and women,that greet one in the towns and assembly constituencies of Arang,Basna,Saraipali,Sarangarh,Chandrapur,Raigarh,Dharamjaigarh,Pathalgaon and Sitapur on the 400-km route from Raipur to Ambikapur,headquarters of Surguja in the north.
Missing from these posters is the Chhattisgarh Congresss best known face outside of the state that of Ajit Jogi. Obviously,it is Mahant who has the partys faith.
This is significant when one considers Jogi has not only been the first chief minister of the state but is also the best known tribal face of the party in a state with an over 30 per cent tribal population. The Congress,in fact,lost the last elections because of its extremely poor showing in the tribal-dominated Bastar and Surguja regions. Making inroads into these tribal areas,therefore,is key to the Congresss bid to win power this time but it has chosen not to make its tribal face visible.
The glaring absence of Jogis face from Congress posters has upset not only his supporters but also the BJP. Every BJP leader on campaign has been itching to take a punch at Jogi so that they can project how the Raman Singh regime has been better than Jogis brief one. They have been claiming Jogi is very much in control in the Congress outside its posters.
The Congress is trying to be too clever by half, says J P Nadda,BJP general secretary in-charge of Chhattisgarh. His son is contesting the elections,his wife is contesting. He himself is the mastermind. He sees Jogis absence from the posters as a trick to deceive the electorate into believing Jogi has been sidelined.
Jogis sympathisers too have been grumbling. On November 12,they were heard complaining among themselves about the absence of his pictures on the dais from where Sonia Gandhi had addressed a rally in Ambikapur earlier that day.
It was a mistake under the garb of protocol that only the PCC chief and legislature party leaders pictures should be on the posters, a Jogi aide explains to supporters. Look at the advertisements in newspapers there are pictures of Motilal Vora,Jogi,Mahant and Chaubey together.
Jogi,for his part,appears to have taken all this in his stride. He is focused on campaigning for whoever has been seeking him. After campaigning all day in the north,Jogi is back to address another public meeting late in the evening in Raipur. He addresses his supporters by name,tells them he has seen positive signals in their constituencies and urges them to stay focused. Supporters wonder if he will take up the apparent sidelining at a party forum after the elections. Not now,he will reply to this later, the aide tells them.
Senior Congress leaders see nothing unusual in his absence from posters. They say this nonexistent issue is being raked up by the BJP.
Was Modi popular in Gujarat before he became chief minister? Was even Raman Singh popular in Chhattisgarh before he became CM? Then why are you talking about us? says B K Hariprasad,suggesting only protocol is being followed.
Congress workers,however,concede it is a clever ploy by the party to preempt a potential issue. The BJP has always used Jogis regime as a shield for its dismal record from the eyes of the public. It projects itself as a protector against Jogis regime. A Jogi away from the publics direct eye will knock the wind out of the BJPs sails, confides a Congressman.
The fact that Jogi continues to work,too,is being projected by party managers as a feat achieved at the instance of the leadership. No Jogi supporter was denied a ticket on the ground of being one. The criteria were winnability and loyalty,irrespective of being a Jogi supporter or not. This has left Jogi with no reason to complain, says a party manager in Raipur.
None of it has,however,happened without Jogi asserting himself. The former chief minister virtually threatened to walk out of the party ahead of the elections before the party high command intervened to keep him in. But many in the Chhattisgarh unit appear happy that he is being kept out of the spotlight.
Obviously,Jogi is waiting for his chance his share if the Congress wins.
