DIGVIJAYA NOT AT FOREFRONT

SHIVRAJ STANDS TALL DESPITE ODDS

RSS A BIG PLUS POINT FOR BJP

FARMER DISTRESS OVERTAKES VYAPAM

Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath has told the party high command that a tie-up with Mayawati ’s Bahujan Samaj Party would help the party in taking on the Bharatiya Janata Party in the forthcoming Assembly elections.The votes polled by the Congress and the BSP in 2008 and 2013 elections put together bring them closer to the BJP’s tally.Fifteen years of anti-incumbency and the Congress getting its act together this time would do the rest, the party hopes. Madhya Pradesh may also see the BSP, the Samajwadi Party and the Congress fighting on the same side, a scenario already in the works in Uttar Pradesh. The SP can give a boost to the Oppostion as Madhya Pradesh has a sizable Yadav population.The BSP had won seven seats and almost 9 per cent of the votes in 2008, and four seats with 6 per cent votes in 2013 on its own in the state. While the BJP focuses primarily on Other Backward Class politics, Congress aims at winning the Dalits and other castes in Madhya Pradesh.All BJP chief minister since 2002 have been from the backward classes. Uma Bharti, a Lodh leader, was followed by Babulal Gaur, who is from the Yadav community. BJP did make overtures to Dalits by reaching out to Dalit saints during the Simhasta Kumbh in 2017. The Congress joining hands with the BSP is likely to wean away the Scheduled Caste voters.Of the three prominent Congress leaders from Madhya Pradesh — Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia — the BJP has most issues with Digvijaya, who was CM for 10 years before the saffron party won in the state. His remarks always invite sharp reactions from the BJP. Digvijaya, who did a ‘padyatra’ across the state recently, is also arguably the only Congress leader having a pan-sta-te following among supporters of the Grand Old Party.But the BJP can take the heart from the way the Congress is keeping Digvijaya in the background — poll campaign material getting final touches reportedly does not mention him.CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan is still going strong in the state though he is not liked much by the BJP central leadership. No other state-level BJP leader has managed to emerge as a challenger to him.Narendra Singh Tomar would be the most acceptable face but his caste — he is a Thakur while the BJP plays OBC politics in Madhya Pradesh — means he will have to contend with being a central minister.Kailash Vijayvargiya, currently the BJP national general secretary, is busy with West Bengal affairs. He did take out a tractor rally in Mandsaur but top leadership has made it clear that Chouhan will again be the chief minister if the BJP wins. Meanwhile, on Sunday, Chouhan began a Jan Ashirwad Yatra — flagged off by Shah — to reach out to voters.The RSS has always had a strong presence across MP and this has helped BJP in successive elections. The Sangh fountainhead has had its stamp on all major decisions taken by the party. Realising this, Chouhan has always kept RSS leaders in good humour. After Tomar, the chief minister is the favourite of the RSS brass. This has also contributed immensely to his continuance in the post though several BJP leaders have often shown their inclination to dislodge him.The Chouhan government was facing a lot of flak over the Vyapam issue. However, this has been pushed to the background with farmer distress and unemployment becoming the main cause of anger.