Chhattisgarh Assembly Election: Bhupesh Baghel ignores corruption allegations, pegs hope on development, voters' trust

Confident of winning 75 out of 90 seats in poll bound Chhattisgarh, state chief minister Bhupesh Baghel is counting heavily on receiving ‘electoral dividend’ for the work he has done for the past five years and 17 guarantees that he has promised to the voters. In 2018 assembly polls, the Congress had dislodged the BJP netting 68 out of 90. Speaking on a chopper ride from Raipur to Sarangarh, Baghel made light of a corruption allegation against him relating to Mahadev App. “The people of Chhattisgarh have become used to the ED, CBI IT and DRI antics for the past three years. These Central agencies have been trying to intimidate and malign me without success. I am all for investigation and supremacy of the rule of law. But politically motivated vendetta finds no traction among the masses,” he said. According to Baghel, Madhadev app ‘script’ has been written factoring in elections. “The story was planted. It has gaping holes and glaring discrepancies. The accused are from the BJP. Even the car allegedly used belongs to a BJP leader. One day they [investigation agencies and BJP leaders] say Shivam Soni is manager, other day they say he is the owner… People of Chhattisgarh are enjoying the drama.” While many pollsters and survey agencies have predicted Baghel’s return, the chief minister is not leaving anything to chance. At Baramkela in Sarangarh district, he kept asking the crowd if they had more trust in him or in Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Baghel would go on enlisting writing off farmers loan waivers, financial support given to all women self-help groups, 35 kg free ration, free power, free education from ‘KG to PG’ and initiatives like ‘Narva, Garwa, Ghurwa, Bari, ‘Tiffin Yojana’ and financial aid to inter-caste married couples. Even transporters’ tax was written off by Baghel. Baghel would then draw a comparison with Prime Minister Modi’s promises. “kya 15 lakh rupiya bank account mein aaya” [Did you get Rs 15 lakh in your bank account?] Baghel would ask the crowd and proceed further after hearing a roaring ‘no.’ He would then go on mentioning various promises and proposals such as two crore jobs, return of black money from Swiss banks that were offered by Modi and have not been delivered so far. “Chhattisgarh voters have no trust in Raman [former chief minister and BJP leader Raman Singh] guarantee or Modi guarantee. They only believe in my guarantees,” Baghel said with a glint in the eye. In Baghel’s scheme of things, his work in the past five years would not only blunt anti-incumbency but result in pro-incumbency with a greater rigor. “Why would there be anti-incumbency against me? We have worked for five years, during Covid and after. Be it farmers, labourers, tribals, traders or industrialists, we supported everyone during the pandemic… we have schemes for everyone. There is no one who can claim that they lost anything in five years”. Enlisting a long list of his achievements, Baghel said, “We halved the electricity bills, bought tendu leaves at Rs4,000 for each 50 kg bag and gave each family 35 kilos of ration. So people trust the Congress guarantee.” Baghel has a punishing schedule of getting up at 6 am and going to bed past midnight. Each morning, he holds a party appraisal meeting before heading for a campaign that includes some eight or nine public meetings a day. Green tea and green cardamom are his constant companions. The former youth Congress worker whose father was a Lohiyaite says he faced a lot of opposition from his wife while joining politics as a full-timer. His father had put a condition that he would support him if he promised to become chief minister of the state. That was a time when Baghel was part of the undivided Madhya Pradesh where the Congress had a galaxy of stalwarts such as Shukla brothers, Madhavrao Scindia, Arjun Singh, Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath, Motilal Vora and others. In the year 2000, Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh. In 2018, Baghel became the third chief minister of Chhattisgarh after Ajit Jogi and Raman Singh. During his stint between 2018-2023, Baghel has launched a slew of welfare schemes including Rahul Gandhi’s pet NYAY Yojana in Chhattisgarh that provides for a minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 2500 on paddy procurement directly into their account. Last year, Rahul was invited to unveil another NYAY Yojana called ‘Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Bhumiheen Kisan Mazdoor Yojana’. Under this scheme, landless labourers and others get rs 6000 annual financial assistance. The outcome of Chhattisgarh Assembly polls would have a crucial bearing on Baghel’s future. Of late, he has emerged as Rahul’s favourite chief minister. Rahul has been supporting Baghel to a hilt. When Baghel and T S Singhdeo differences began to hurt the Congress in Chhattisgarh, Rahul intervened to persuade Singhdeo to accept the post of deputy chief minister. Baghel, constantly showcasing himself as a Nehru Gandhi family loyalist, recently made a pitch for Rahul as prime minister. In an interview with the news agency PTI, Baghel had said he would want Rahul Gandhi to be “INDIA alliance’ prime ministerial face. “As a Congressman, I feel Rahul Gandhi should be the prime ministerial face," Baghel said in a response to a question whether he would want Rahul Gandhi to be the face of the INDIA alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. It is often said that it is hard to beat a person who never gives up. For Baghel, the road to success has not been easy to navigate. Baghel’s grassroots approach, his status as a backward class chief minister commanding a reasonable degree of popularity in Chhattisgarh, has made him a rising star within the Congress Parivar. The attention from Gandhis and Kharge is also bringing in some degree of hostility and intrigue. Post 3 December, he would have to negotiate these challenges too. But for Baghel, voting on 17 November does not mean rest or leisure. “The elections are on in Rajasthan and Telangana. If the party asks me, I shall be going there to campaign too, “he said with a chuckle. The writer is a Visiting Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation. A well-known political analyst, he has written several books, including ‘24 Akbar Road’ and ‘Sonia: A Biography’. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. 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