As both BJP, Congress eye the tribal vote in Madhya Pradesh, a grassroots movement takes shape

The mahapanchayat, held in Kukshi tehsil of Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar, was attended by several tribal leaders of the state including Bhartiya Tribal Party founder and MLA from Gujarat’s Jagadia, Chhotubhai Vasva, who extended his support to Alawa re-enforcing his demand for the implementation of Schedule 5 and the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act in Madhya Pradesh.

Laying down the objectives of the mahapanchayat, Alawa said, “Today we have leaders who do not understand the Constitution and are only working for the benefit of political parties. The aim of every tribal youth present here should not just be to reach the Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha, but after having reached there, to work for the benefit of the lowest rung of the tribal society.”

According to Alawa, tribal youths will work in each block and village to prepare a report on the problems of health, education and employment in these communities, and drive the message of the need for political change by increasing tribal representation in the state Assembly.

“BJP is celebrating the Amrit Mahotsav of stripping the tribal of their rights of jal, jangal aur zameen,” said Vasva.

A social activist from Betul, Anil Garg, pointed out that none of the governments have returned the tribals their right over their community land. “Thousands of hectares of revenue land have been shown as forest land. Based on this, authorities are taking criminal action against people. Despite residing in forest villages for generations, tribals have not been given land rights. A strong movement around this needs to be developed,” he said.

The principal objective of the mahapanchayat was to encourage tribal youth leadership to take the fight for the rights of tribals to all spheres of life, from politics and administration to private sector industries. With lack of employment in the state being a major concern, there were demands raised to fill the backlog of nearly one lakh government vacancies on seats reserved for tribals, OBCs and Scheduled Castes, which are at present being filled through contractual appointments.

With Madhya Pradesh bracing for a heated Assembly election scheduled at the end of 2023, both the Congress and the BJP are eying to win the support of tribals that account for 21.1 per cent of the state’s 7.26 crore population.

In the meanwhile, JAYS, a tribal organisation that until now has been working on social issues, is preparing to contest the elections by fielding its candidates on 80 seats, including all 47 that are reserved for tribals, along with another 33 seats on which tribals hold a considerable sway.

Ravirajh Baghel, state president of JAYS, explained that their organisation has so far created booth committees across 50 Assembly seats. In the coming days, all targeted 80 Vidhan Sabha seats will be covered.

This comes as at a time when the state BJP has come up with an extensive tribal outreach programme that was launched in September 2021, to recapture the reserved SC/ST seats it had lost in 2018, paving the way for a Kamal Nath-led Congress government.

In 2018, when the BJP lost the Assembly elections to Congress, it had won only won 16 of the 47 seats reserved for STs, as opposed to 31 in 2013 and 29 in 2008. Meanwhile, the Congress in 2018 gave its best performance in a decade, after winning a record 24 ST seats, as compared to the 18 constituencies in 2013 and 10 in 2008.

A year after returning to power in 2020, after the fall of Kamal Nath government following the defection of 25 Congress MLAs led by Jyotiraditya Scindia, the BJP in September 2021 a launched a massive tribal outreach programme, with Union home minister Amit Shah himself coming to Jabalpur and announcing the establishment of a museum dedicated to Gond freedom fighter Raghunath Shah and his son Shankar Shah. A hospital in Chhindwara was also named after them.

Next, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bhopal on Janjatia Gaurav Diwas, celebrated on November 15, when he inaugurated a revamped Habibganj railway station and renamed it after Rani Kamlapati, the last Gond queen of Bhopal. He also launched a ration home delivery scheme in all 89 tribal blocks of MP, and announced the implementation of the PESA Act, besides declaring forest villages as revenue villages.

Dr. Alawa pointed out the need for the tribal leadership to usher in monumental changes to reach out the upliftment of tribals to blocks and villages by the youths. This, he said, will help the organisation tide over the BJP’s outreach programme, of identifying labharthis (beneficiaries) and turning them into BJP voters.

“Not just the tribals, but also the SCs, OBCs and minorities, will come together to put up a unified front in the 2023 elections, and play a crucial role in formation of the government in 2023.

“Getting benefits from schemes like Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojna and Har Ghar Ration is like living in a rented house. It is a temporary shelter. What we are demanding is effective implementation of PESA and Schedule 5, which will enable tribals to decide on their own issues, be self-governed. It is like buying your own house instead of living in a rented one. The tribals will be able to decide for themselves through a tribal council,” pointed out Vasva.

At the mahapanchayat, a stall was set up in a corner with books on topics ranging from tribal history to understanding of tribal laws such as PESA.

Ramchandra Nigiwal, 41, who had come to attend the mahapanchayat from Manawar, was one of those who purchased a book titled, Adivasio ki samasya agar rajnaitik hai, toh iska matlab hai ki uska samadhan bhi rajnaitik hoga.

He said he bought the book for his son and two daughters. “Today, even when there are some schemes for the benefit of the tribals, we are not able to benefit from it as we are exploited. We will have to come together to put up a united front in order to make ourselves heard,” said Nigiwal.