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The BJP tried its best to keep its seniormost tribal leader in poll-bound Chhattisgarh, who quit the party on Sunday, to change his mind. Frantic calls were made to Nand Kumar Sai, while BJP leaders even waited outside his residence.
But, it was not to be. On Monday, Sai visited Rajiv Bhavan, the Congress headquarters in Raipur, and soon after joined the state ruling party in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and other senior Congress leaders.
The BJP’s attempts to hold on to its 77-year-old former Chhattisgarh state president were not surprising. Associated with the BJP since its inception in 1980, and known to be a staunch advocate of Hindutva and a fiery orator, Sai is just what the Congress needs to both appeal to tribals in the state as well as take on the BJP over its allegations of the Congress government turning a blind eye to “conversions” within the community.
Despite being a tribal, Sai courtesy his long political beliefs consumes neither liquor nor non-vegetarian. Belonging to the Jashpur tribal belt, he is also vocal against conversion of tribals.
Plus, he has influence in neighbouring areas of Madhya Pradesh as well, having been an MLA when the two states were united. Sai also headed the Madhya Pradesh BJP unit for a time.
Speaking with the press after he had joined the Congress, Sai said, “I have worked with all the big leaders, from Atalji (Atal Bihari Vajpayee) to Sushma Swaraj-ji. I felt very bad leaving, but the BJP is no longer the same. The party is not what it was like in Atalji’s days or Pramod Mahajanji’s days. None of the leaders I worked with are there today, nor is the thought that prevailed once.”
Sai added that he had been trying ways to strengthen the BJP, which was on the “decline” for the past few years, and warning leaders since before the party’s 2018 loss. “But it had no effect. I was not given any position, and hence I could not go to any party meetings, nor did they invite me. I tried contacting senior BJP leaders in Delhi for over a year, but did not get the desired response. I realised that they do not care much about me. Maybe because of my age… Even central leaders did not show much interest, and I realised I am not needed now,” the 77-year-old said.
Warning the BJP not to take him lightly, Sai said that in 2003, he had helped topple the Ajit Jogi-led Congress sarkar. “I should have been made the CM, but I was sidelined… I do not want to name the ones who plotted against me. I had hinted at this at a press conference and said issues were being created and our party needs to talk. But nothing happened,” he said, adding that he had not been promised any position in the Congress but that he had told the party that it must work to provide education among the tribals.
If the BJP does not work hard in the next six months, Sai said, it may not come back to power for a long time. Ruling out a return to the BJP, he said: “In the 2018 elections, I will not say it was the Congress that won, but it was the BJP that lost.”
Soon after the press conference, Sai accompanied Baghel to public events.
During his long career, Sai has been credited with playing a crucial role as Leader of Opposition when Chhattisgarh was formed, and later after the ruling Congress government was toppled and could not return to power for three terms. When the BJP came to power, Sai was in fact one of the contenders for Chief Minister’s post.
An MA graduate, who also knows Sanskrit, Sai has been a two-time Lok Sabha MP and three-time MLA. He was appointed Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes in 2017.
Sushil Anand Shukla, state chief of the Congress media cell, said the party was set to gain from Sai’s entry. “He is a national tribal leader, and well-respected among the community. He will help us strengthen the party, while tribals get the message that he appreciates the work we are doing,” Shukla said, adding that Sai’s formal position in the party will be decided by senior leaders.
Former BJP CM Raman Singh expressed shock at Sai’s decision to leave and join the Congress, while offering his best wishes to him. On Sai being “neglected” in the BJP, Singh said, “He held all important posts and was always respected by the BJP at the state and national level. He left the party after hard work of 40 to 50 years.”
Another senior Chhattisgarh BJP tribal leader and former Union minister, Vishnu Deo Sai, also expressed dismay. “Sai was with the BJP for nearly 45 years, and no one could have known that a person who fought against the Congress all his life would join them.” Vishnu Deo mentioned an incident when, under the Ajit Jogi government, the police had lathicharged Sai during a protest and left his knees injured.
Visnhu Deo added that Sai should have used the party forums to express his grievances, and called the changes part of a larger process. “The national policy of the BJP is that no one beyond 75 years of age is given a ticket. He is 77 now. It is better to ask him why he left. He did not make any demands. He used to criticise the party, but it’s natural. People have differences in their family and the BJP is one big family.”
Asked how much his absence will hurt the BJP, Vishnu Deo, who is also a former head of the party’s Chhattisgarh unit, said: “Not much, but every person has some amount of support. Last elections, we lost all the tribal seats. It was a wave for change. But if you compare the respect shown by the BJP to tribals as compared to what the Congress did in 75 years of Independence, it is much more. The Congress just uses tribals for votes. For the first time, an Indian President is a tribal woman. Former PM Atalji made separate authorities in Bastar and Jashpur-Surguja to ensure special attention to their needs.”
Declaring that the tribals were unhappy with both the BJP and Congress, the state secretary of the Sarva Adivasi Samaj, Vinod Nagvanshi, said the BJP will take a hit. But, he added: “The Congress already has many tribal MLAs, so it will be interesting to see how it uses Sai and what space they can make for him in the party.”
