Ahead of 2023 polls, BJP gears up for battleground Chhattisgarh

Having effected a change in its leadership in the state and with plans to kickstart a campaign against the Congress government in the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has begun preparations to reclaim Chhattisgarh where it suffered a drubbing in 2018.

With a little over a year to go for the assembly elections in the state, the party has decided to target the state government for “corruption and for failing to deliver on its promises to farmers and the youth” said party leaders aware of the details.

The party’s central leadership has also talked tough to the state unit, which was plagued by internal issues. It recently appointed Arun Sao as the state unit’s president and Narayan Chandel as the leader of the opposition in the assembly. It deputed Ajay Jamwal, who was the general secretary (organisation) in the north-eastern region to oversee party related issues in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

Also Read: BJP appoints OBC leader Arun Sao as new Chhattisgarh unit president

“The changes in leadership will hopefully resolve the infighting, so the next step is to organise campaigns to expose the deficiencies of the government,” a senior party functionary said on condition of anonymity.

Setting the stage for what is likely to be an aggressive campaign, the Yuva Morcha or the youth wing of the party will stage a protest against Chief Minister, Bhupesh Bagel’s “failure” to deliver “jobs” on August 24. Visits by senior leaders from the centre are also being planned to galavnise the cadre and address internal issues in the run up to the election.

“The CM had made many promises from providing jobs to giving a monthly stipend to 1 million unemployed youth…not only have these promises not been met, no new avenues for employment, such as industries have been set up,” added the functionary cited above.

As part of its manifesto, the Congress promised it would give ₹2,500 every month as stipend to 1 million unemployed youth in the state who would be engaged in community service and social work. It also promised to create 1.5 million jobs over a period of five years.

The BJP has also decided to stage protests against what it alleges has been a failure in improving the lot of the farmers as was promised by the Congress government. “They promised loan waivers, and ₹2500 per quintal of paddy, but in reality ₹1950 (paid for the procurement) comes from the centre. The state is giving an additional ₹600 only. There is shortfall of seeds and fertilizers. All the promises made to the farmers were an eyewash,” the functionary said.

BJP’s national general secretary in-charge of the state, D Purandeshwari said the party is on the road to exposing the corruption and failure of the state government. “There are scams that will be exposed from the (power of the) liquor mafia to the recently announced Godhan programme. The poor have been deprived of central schemes such as the Awas Yojna, and so our focus will be to ensure that justice is done to the people of the state.”

Attacking the Bhagel government, she said, there is little focus on governance, as the state is being treated as an “ATM to fund Congress party’s elections in other states.”

Another BJP leader said, sorting out intraparty differences will be a major part of the campaign strategy. “The new state president and the new leader of the opposition in the assembly are both from the other backward classes (OBCs ) and seemingly neutral, but there is concern that with both leaders representing the same caste group, the BJP will need to redouble efforts to keep tribal communities close. After all they make up for 32-33% of the electorate (OBCs are about 45%),”this person added, asking not to be named.