Follower and fighter to steer Chhattisgarh Cong

The BJP has termed it the latest instance of sycophancy in the Congress. Congress spokesperson Shailesh Nitin Trivedi said in Mahant’s defence: “I have cleaned my party office at least ten times. Mahantji only showed his commitment to taking up any task to strengthen the party.”

It is not the first time Mahant has been acting PCC chief. He was in that position a few years ago,when a district president,Dhanendra Sahu,superseded him to the post of PCC president. Mahant never expressed any disappointment in public.

The other appointment following Patel’s killing in the Maoist attack in Darbha,of Bhupesh Baghel as programme coordinator,complements that of Mahant. If Mahant strives to carry an image of humility,Baghel is aggressive and vocal,the only leader in the state to have dragged Chief Minister Raman Singh to court. When Balco acquired huge tracts of land in Korba district,Mahant’s parliamentary constituency,it was Baghel who took the company to the Supreme Court and lodged a criminal case against Singh.

Both Mahant and Baghel have been protégés of Digvijaya Singh and served as ministers under the latter in undivided Madhya Pradesh. Their joint challenge now is to lift a party not just electorally but emotionally after the demoralising attack that claimed Patel and other Congress leaders.

The Parivartan Yatra has been postponed because of the monsoon. While Mahant has announced a “BJP gaddi chhodo” agitation from August 9,Baghel has said he would launch yatras from all four divisions in memory of the slain leaders. “We will tell people how the BJP government did not provide our leaders security,” Baghel said,indicating that the poll campaign ahead will be an emotive one.

The party’s strategy will hinge around continuing with the core team Patel had nourished. There had been rumours about an organisational overhaul but Mahant has since made it clear,“My only task is to continue with the ongoing momentum.” It means that leaders such as Trivedi,who coined the slogan “Har ghar Congress,ghar ghar Congress”,and Parivartan Yatra coordinator T S Sinhadev will remain influential as ever.

One challenge will be tackling former chief minister Ajit Jogi,who is widely seen as running a parallel system within the party. Jogi recently mocked Digvijaya during a party meet in Raipur; the latter’s former protégés have been ignoring him.