With only two days left for the voting in the second and final phase of the Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha elections on 17 November, voting will take place on 70 seats between the Congress and the BJP. The BJP is claiming a lead after voting on 20 seats in the first phase. The true strength of their claims will only be evident after the vote counting on 3 December.
However, political analysts are suggesting that the scenario has shifted from a one-sided affair to an interesting and captivating turn. It is evident that until August, the electoral atmosphere was largely one-sided. Even political pundits, not just the ruling Congress but also political analysts, believed that Congress was making a comeback in Chhattisgarh. In fact, the BJP seemed nowhere on the ground. However, in the first week of September, the BJP’s campaigning gained momentum to the extent that the party stood up against the ruling party.
The role of four individuals in preparing the ground for the BJP in the state is considered crucial. Among these four, three are from Gujarat, namely Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Health Minister and co-election in-charge for Chhattisgarh, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya. Alongside them is a Bihar leader, Nityanand Rai, who is the co-in-charge for Bihar. He is also the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and holds a significant role in the state’s organisation.
According to party leaders, the reorganisation efforts to revive the BJP, which began in August 2022 with the appointment of Arun Sao as the State President, did not show immediate results despite major changes.
In the efforts to bring the BJP back to power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi played the most crucial role in Chhattisgarh. He conducted eight tours in the state in just over three months, holding nine large public meetings. These meetings included two in Raipur, three in Bilaspur, two in Bastar, and one each in Durg and Surguja. On July 7, Prime Minister Modi held his first public meeting in Raipur. In this meeting, PM Modi gave the slogan of “Aao Nai Sahibo, Badle Nai Sabibo,” which became the election mantra of the BJP. In the same meeting, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya was appointed as the co-incharge for the Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha elections. According to party leaders, on the same day, the election campaign of the BJP in Chhattisgarh began with Amit Shah’s meeting in Durg on June 2. In this tour, Shah took a complete report of the entire state organisation and its activities. At that time, Shah felt that the present leaders in Chhattisgarh would not be able to make things work. After that, Dr. Mandaviya was brought in for the electoral battle in Chhattisgarh.
While Home Minister Amit Shah was closely involved in organisational rejig and candidate selection in Chattisgarh it is precisely his effort and the campaign of PM Modi which has brought the BJP back into the game in Chhattisgarh. Moreover, with serious charges of corruption of current CM Bhupesh Baghel, his anti corruption campaign has taken a hit in the light of kickback allegations in the Mahadev app case . The CM seems to be firefighting what seems to be a PR disaster and also the allegations have poked holes in Rahul Gandhi’s claim of an effective and clean governance.
