Baghel era crucial for Chhattisgarh's prosperity

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Raipur, March 21 (IANS) Congress stragegists at the national level had never thought that the party would be in such a commanding position in mineral-rich Chhattisgarh, where the BJP was undefeated till late 2018 with three back-to-back victories in the Assembly polls, with the faction-ridden grand old party looking down and out.

But then the saffron party encountered a hard working, street fighter OBC leader in Bhupesh Baghel (59), who single-handedily demolished the BJP in the Assembly elections held in 2018. In the 90-member state Assembly, the BJP presently has 15 seats, while the Congress enjoys a massive majority with 70 seats, a regional outfit has four seats and the BSP has two MLAs.

BJP leader Raman Singh became the Chief Minister in 2003 by sheer luck, and not by choice, but he defied all the odds to remain at the top post for 15 years.

On the contrary, Baghel earned the Chief Minister's post in 2018 with sheer hard work. So it doesn't come as a surprise when political analysts say the Bhupesh era must go on for a decade and more if mineral-rich Chhattisgarh has to prosper properly.

Baghel was subjected to repeated humiliation during the BJP regime. He was even put in jail in 2018 ahead of the Assembly polls, but he fought fearlessly and inspired the Congress grassroots cadres with his fighting spirit, leading the party to a stunning victory in the elections which brought down the curtain on the 15-year BJP rule.

In the high-octane polls in 2018, the BJP surprisingly drew a blank in its poverty-hit tribal bastion of Bastar and Surguja regions, which account for 26 Assembly seats.

The impressive performance of Baghel in almost two-and-a-half years in office has given food for thought to many in the party, and also those outside it, that he can be a potential leader for the Congress at the national level in the years to come.

In fact, the Congress has already started giving him crunch assignments outside the state to change the party's fortune. Presently, he is leading the Congress campaign in poll-bound Assam as the party observer, stationed in Dibrugarh with his core team to revive the Congress in the Upper Assam division, which had voted in bulk in favour of the BJP in the 2016 polls.

Soon after he took oath in December 2018 as the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Baghel waived off farmers' loans, which was a pre-poll commitment, before coming up with the idea to revive rural economy with the launch of the 'Narwa, Garwa, Ghurwa and Bari' scheme for the farmers.

Among other schemes, the Rajiv Kisan Nyay Yojana ensures highest ever per tonne payment (Rs 2,500) to the farmers on paddy procurement, while the Godhan Nyay Yojana provides for procuring cowdung at Rs 2 per kg from livestock farmers.

Baghel's efforts to tackle malnuitrition in the tribal areas with a focus on improved health and education facilities in the remote belts have also started to yield results.

--IANS

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