Explainer: How Chhattisgarh became a ray of hope for Congress

After Bihar elections, once again discussions have intensified throughout the country regarding the reasons for the poor performance of the Congress Party. But the Congress is consistently getting stronger in Chhattisgarh. Apart from the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress has proved its mettle in every election held in the state. ETV Bharat spoke to political experts and senior journalists about the reasons for the Congress Party’s strong position in Chhattisgarh; they explain why the Congress Party's position in Chhattisgarh is different from the rest of the states.

Raipur (Chhattisgarh): December 11th, 2018 — On this day Congress returned to power in Chhattisgarh after 15 years. The Congress fought a long battle in Chhattisgarh to establish its footing on its own turf. In addition to the internal protests which were like a sore wound, an added blow came in 2013 when some of the top leaders of Congress in the State were killed in a naxalite attack in the Jhiram Valley.

But the Congress returned; and returned such that today not only 70 out of the 90 seats in the State Assembly are occupied by the party, but also in the urban civic elections of the state, people have trusted the Congress Party. It was also proven in the by-election that the people of Chhattisgarh are relying on Bhupesh Baghel. It is not wrong to say that if we review all the states of the country, then the Congress which has been going through a bad phase for a long time is the strongest in Chhattisgarh.

ETV Bharat has prepared a special report on the reasons behind the strong performance of Congress Party in Chhattisgarh. After discussing with the experts of politics, we have tried to analyze why the Congress Party which has weakened in the whole country, is in a powerful position in Chhattisgarh?

What do experts say?

ETV Bharat talked to political expert and senior journalist, Diwakar Muktibodh about the strong position of Congress in the state. During the conversation, Muktibodh highlighted many points. He said that 'Congress always had strong leadership in Chhattisgarh. Leadership has always been very good and there has always been solidarity in the party. Unlike other states, there is no factionalism within the Congress Party in Chhattisgarh’. Muktibodh says, 'Congress performed well in every election, even though the Congress Party could not hold power. But the Congress leaders always had a stronghold at the grassroots level. Even today the leaders here stay in direct contact with the people. The party has benefitted from this.’

People were upset with BJP: Muktibodh

Muktibodh says, ‘People were upset with the BJP's rule and they wanted a change, which is why the Congress got so many seats in the 2018 assembly elections’. He explains that BJP had been in power in the state for the last 15 years. In such a situation there was an anti-incumbency wave among the people in the state. This is the reason that Congress has benefited directly due to the anti-incumbency wave.

'Ajit Jogi is out of the party'

According to experts, the party gained strength after Ajit Jogi left Congress. The possibility of factionalism within the party diminished as soon as Jogi left. They believe that Ajit Jogi used to be involved in anti-party activities while staying within the party. Congress had to bear the brunt of this too many times. But as soon as Ajit Jogi was out, the party started getting stronger and is standing in a strong position today. The direct benefit of his exit from the party was received by the Congress Party in the assembly elections held in 2018.

ETV Bharat also spoke to senior journalist Ravi Bhoi who understands the politics of Chhattisgarh

"The local leaders have a better hold in the state than the big leaders of the Congress organization. This is the reason why Congress has benefited from it. If we look at the assembly elections also, due to the activism of the local leaders, the Congress has come to power. The party leadership did not have such a big contribution in this, if the party leadership had contributed, then the Congress would have achieved better success in the Lok Sabha elections in the state. But this did not happen," said Bhoi.

Nandkumar and Bhupesh's strong organizational capability

"Congress was strengthened by former state president Nandkumar Patel. Under his leadership, the party was united and there was a fresh surge of energy, which was retained by Bhupesh Baghel after the departure of Nandkumar Patel. They kept the party moving forward with full enthusiasm," Bhoi told ETV Bharat.

Meanwhile, Bhupesh Baghel also took many tough and drastic decisions. These included the decision to include some people from the opposing party, as well as the exclusion of some people from the party.

'People's anger against Raman government'

Ravi Bhoi says that in the 15 years of Raman governance, the first 5 years were fine, in the second span of 5 years some better work was done. But during the third span of 5 years, Raman Singh had become distant from the public including the office bearers of the party. Rumours of the bureaucracy dominating the government were also coming to the fore. There was a lot of anger in the public about this. The Congress also benefited from this in the 2018 assembly elections.

Congress stands on the foundation of martyrdom

ETV Bharat has also spoken to the state president of Congress Media Department, Shailesh Nitin Trivedi. Shailesh Nitin Trivedi says, 'The building of the state organization stands on the foundation of the martyrdom of Vidyacharan Shukla, Nand Kumar Patel, Mahendra Karma and Uday Mudaliar. After the departure of Nandkumar Patel, Bhupesh Baghel, who was state president for 6 years, has strengthened the Congress Party by keeping it unified. Baghel was severely targeted during this period. Bhupesh Baghel also had to go to jail during this time. But it was Bhupesh Baghel's persistent will and determination that the Congress Party should be brought back to power and he was successful in it.

'Party got stronger because of government policies’: Congress

Shailesh Nitin Trivedi considers the work being done by the Bhupesh government in the last 2 years as the main reason for the strength of the Congress. He says that the Bhupesh government has run schemes keeping in mind all sections including the poor, labourers and farmers. The party has benefited in the assembly by-elections in the past including Marwahi.

How did Chhattisgarh become a ray of hope for the Congress?

Ajit Jogi's exit from the party was profitable: Congress

Shailesh Nitin Trivedi also says that 'Congress made Ajit Jogi the first Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. But while remaining in the party, Jogi had been involved in anti-party activities. He continued to work as BJP's B team’. Congress leaders have been accusing Jogi about this in the past as well. During the Marwahi assembly by-election, the way the Janata Congress supported the BJP, it became known to all that Jogi was acting like BJP's B team.

Reason for ‘weak Congress’ in the country

Congress is in a strong position in Chhattisgarh; while on the other hand, Congress is in a very weak position in other states of the country. We talked to the political experts about the main reason for this, and all of them have unanimously blamed ‘nepotism’ as the key issue. They believe that the Gandhi family has been running the party for years. The reigns of the party are not being handed over to anyone else. The party also has to bear the brunt for this.