Date:16/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/16/stories/2008111656641000.htm

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It won’t be a cakewalk for the Jogi couple

Aarti Dhar

There are undercurrents in support of BJP

Victory margin an issue for the Jogi couple
16 candidates in the fray

MARWAHI (Chhattisgarh): A drive from Bilaspur to Marwahi through Kota gives an impression that there is virtually no competition for the Congress from the Bharatiya Janata Party for next week’s election. The Congress which has fielded the former Chief Minister, Ajit Jogi from Marwahi and his wife, Renu Jogi, from the adjoining Kota seat may like to believe that it would be a cakewalk for both.

But things may not be as easy for the Congress as they appear to be. There are undercurrents in support of the BJP, particularly Chief Minister Raman Singh. Children wearing Jogi-masks in schools like the ones distributed by the BJP in Gujarat for Narendra Modi, innumerable posters, banners, rallies and other paraphernalia give an impression that it would be a one-sided show in favour of the Jogi couple, and that the BJP is non-existent.

But, that is not true, voters explain. These are rich people and can afford to spend money. “But this does not help the people. It is the jobs and other development works that ultimately influence the voters,” they say.

Mungeli, Marwahi and Kota blocks have already disbursed Rs. 36 crore under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Of this, Rs. 8 crore was disbursed in October after the State declared 86 villages in the region drought-affected. A large number of people were given employment as ‘shiksha karmis’ from Marwahi and Kota.

“The people remember that Marwahi and Kota never got step-motherly treatment just because they were represented by Congress MLAs. Both the constituencies saw as much development as any other constituency represented by the BJP representative, says a ‘shiksha karmi.’

Winning is not an issue for the Jogi couple but the margin of votes is. In the 2003 elections Mr. Jogi defeated Nand Kumar Sai, the BJP state president by a margin of 54,000 votes.

He, however, quit the seat when he contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2004 and was sent to Parliament from Mahasamund after he defeated Vidya Charan Shukla, senior Congress leader who joined the BJP. The Marwahi seat had been lying vacant since then.

This time round there are 16 candidates in the fray but the main rival for Mr. Jogi is the BJP’s Dhyan Singh Porte. The Gondwana Gantantra Party and the Rashtriya Gondwana Party have also fielded their candidates and they will cut into the Congress votes.

It is again the BJP’s Moolchand Khandelwal, who is putting up a tough fight against Renu Jogi, elected from Kota for the first time in 2006 in a by-election after the former Assembly Speaker Rajendra Prasad Shukla passed away. She won by a margin of 23,000 votes. The public sentiment is that the contest could be much closer this time.

The immediate beneficiary of the high-profile constituencies is likely to be Dharamjit Singh of the Congress contesting from Lormi seat bordering Marwahi and Kota. Of the 10 Assembly segments, the Congress won 6 and the BJP 3.