Detailing this further, the report states that

• 47(52%) winners won with 50% and above of the total votes polled in their
• 43(48%) winners won with less than 50% of the total votes polled in their
• 8(47%) out of 17 winners with declared criminal cases have won with a vote share of 50% and
• 39(54%) out of 72 crorepati winners have won with a vote share of 50% and

Further, the report finds that only 38 % of the total registered voters determined the winner. This implies that the winners represent on an average, 38% of the total electorate. In the Chhattisgarh State Assembly Elections, 2018 won by an average of 35% of the total registered votes. As crucially, while five assembly seat winners won with a victort of less than 1,000 votes, three have won with more than 30 % of margin of victory.

Reflecting on the voting turnout which was 76.3`% in 2023 as compared to 76.88 per cent in 2018, winners of the Chhattisgarh state assembly elections, 2023 won by an average of 50 % of total votes polled. In the 2018 elections, winners won by an average of 46% of total votes polled.

How many persons with criminal records won and what was their margin of victory?

• 13 out of 17 winners with declared criminal cases have won against a runner up with a clean background.
• Among these 13 winners, 5 winners have won with more than 10% margin of
• Among these, Gajendra Yadav (BJP) from Durg City constituency won with 78% margin of victory

Figure – Voter Turnout

Figure: Vote Share Percentage of Winners – Chhattisgarh: 2018 and 2023 

• 47(52%)winners won with 50% and above of the total votes polled in their constituency.
• 43(48%)winners won with less than 50% of the total votes polled in their constituency.

Figure: No. of Winners- Vote Share 

• 8(47%)out of 17 winners with declared criminal cases have won with a vote share of 50% and above.
• 39(54%)out of 72 crorepati winners have won with a vote share of 50% and above.

Representativeness of Winners

• All the winners of the Chhattisgarh State Assembly Elections, 2023 won with an average of 38% of the total registered voters. This implies that the winners represent on an average, 38% of the total electorate. In the Chhattisgarh State Assembly Elections, 2018 won by an average of 35%of the total registered votes.

Figure – Comparative Analysis- Representativeness of Winners add table

Margin of Victory

• 5 winners have won with a margin of victory of less than1000
• 3winners have won with more than 30% margin of victory.

Winners with Declared Criminal Cases and their Margin of Victory:

• 13 out of 17winners with declared criminal cases have won against a runner up with a clean background.
• Among these 13winners, 5 winners have won with more than 10% margin of victory.
• Among these, Gajendra Yadav(BJP) from Durg City constituency won with 78% margin of victory.

Crorepati Winners and their Margin of Victory:

• 13out of 72 crorepati winners have won against a non-crorepati runners up.
• Among these 13winners, 3 winners have won with more than 15% margin of victory
• Among these, Brijmohan Agrawal (BJP) from Raipur City South constituency won with 06%margin of victory.

Performance of Women Winners:

• Among the 90winners, 19 are women.
• All of them won with 35% and aboveof vote share in their constituencies.
• Among the women winners, Chaturi Nand (INC) from Saraipali Constituency has won with the highest vote share, i.e. 57%in her constituency and 24.83% margin of victory.

Performance of Re-elected Winners:

• Out of total 24re-elected winners, one has won with less than 40% of vote share in their respective constituencies. 11(46%) have won with more than 50% of vote share.
• 15(62.5%)re-elected winners have won with less than 10% margin of victory whereas 1 has won with more than 40% margin of victory.

NOTA:

• The NOTA button instated by the ECI in 2013 gave the voters the option of rejecting all the candidates in their constituency. Out of 1,56,34,933 votes polled in Chhattisgarh Assembly, 2023, 1,97,678 (1.26%) were polled for NOTA.

Related:

With little to offer, the BJP throws in the “conversion” card: Chhattisgarh elections

Why Chhattisgarh election results will have a direct impact on Jharkhand politics

Poll bound states of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh see hate speeches by BJP leaders prior to elections

The post How Chhattisgarh voted, how the results shaped up: ADR appeared first on SabrangIndia.

However, the case of tribals in Chhattisgarh is more complicated. On January 2, 2023, Newslaundry reported of an instance where a church in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur faced vandalism, ostensibly due to allegations of engaging in “conversions.” Furthermore, between December 9 and 18, a distressing situation unfolded where nearly 1,000 Adivasi Christians were subjected to persecution, resulting in their displacement from their homes. These findings were documented by a fact-finding committee, led by the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism. According to a press release by the United Christian Forum, about 520 Christians have been in turn arrested on accusations of forced conversions without any concrete evidence.

In March earlier this year, the situation became tense and complicated when two groups disputed over the burial rites of a tribal woman in the Christian tribal populated region of Bastar. About two percent of Chhattisgarh’s Christian population, primarily resides in the southern Bastar region of the state. The situation of the burial soon escalated and became a law and order situation after the police tried to control the two groups, one of which also started stone pelting at the police. According to Times of India, it took about 24 hours for the police to maintain control over the situation. Slogans against religious conversion were also raised.

The incident took place in the Parpa area of Bhejpadar village when at the death of an elderly woman, Mate Bekko, on March 19 a disagreement arose among the villagers over the question of how to lay her to rest. While the deceased woman’s family wished to perform a burial in their backyard the following day, a faction of villagers arrived at the site to voice their objections. They argued that despite the tribal family’s conversion to Christianity, a burial should not be the chosen method for the final rites.

After the law and order situation came under control, the burial was slated to take place as per the family’s wishes. However, even the burial ceremony had to be conducted under the protection of the police, which also witnessed heated events given the large number of people who arrived at the burial. It was only after the burial was prevented and the body was handed over to the police that the mob of people gathered calmed down.

On the part of the Bhupesh Baghel-ruled Congress government, during the incidents of violence and intimidation of tribals in the Bastar region, the former and present district presidents of the BJP from Narayanpur were arrested following two violent attacks. The Hindu had reported, in January this year, that the police arrested at least 11 persons — including the current and former district presidents of the BJP — in connection with separate, violent incidents over allegations of eligious conversions in Narayanpur in January. The police had taken action on two incidents — one in Gorra village where two groups clashed, and the church attack in which a Superintendent of Police was injured a day later. Among those arrested BJP leaders Rupsay Salam, 55, and Narayan Markam, 50, have been arrested in connection with an incident, in which Narayanpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Sadanand Kumar was injured and a church vandalised. Mr. Salam assumed charge as the BJP district president in October and since then, the duo have led several campaigns against Christian missionaries in villages across Narayanpur, sources said. This period has coincided with several violent incidents over the sensitive issue of religious conversions in the State.

According to a report by Parth M N, a similar case of violation of burial rites had further erupted back in May 2023 when Shyamlal,  a wage labourer hailing from Arracote was found dead after he had been missing. He was survived by his then pregnant 20-year-old wife Sukmiti. Shyamlal had been missing for some time when his dead body was found hanging from a tree. This left the family, who reportedly belongs to the Madiya tribe, in shock, however, this was not the end of their troubles. The situation took an even more dangerous turn when the family was confronted with an ultimatum as some local residents came and informed Shyamlal’s relatives that the customary last rites, which they intended to perform in their village, could only proceed if the family converted to Hinduism.

Instead of receiving the compassion and support they desperately needed, the family encountered harassment and intimidation. Driven by influential village members and incited by right-wing leaders, the people stated that Shyamlal’s final farewell would only be permitted in the village under one condition: the family must not bury him in accordance to Christian rites, but instead must conduct the Shyamlal’s final proceedings with Hindu rites.

According to the report, Sukmiti says that they have been following Christianity for about 40 years and it is very much a way of life for them. Shyamlal’s body could not be buried in the backyard. Sukmiti says that is where their ancestors are buried and that’s where they thought they both would be buried – next to each other. However, due to the vulnerable position they were in, Shyamlal had to be buried some 40 kms away from his home as the village remained tense with additional police force deployed.

According to a report by Sabrang India, violence against Christian minorities continues to rise. The violence tends to only be further intensified especially if the Christians affected belong to vulnerable and marginalised groups, such as scheduled tribes. According to the report, Chhattisgarh saw a second highest number of violent incidents, totalling 118 reported incidents by the mid of 2023 itself, according to data collected by the United Christian Forum (a human rights-based forum based in Delhi). Bastar, out of all the districts, retained the district with the highest number of instances with 51 incidents, amounting to almost a half of the incidents reported in Chhattisgarh. From which we can infer that the location of being a tribal Christians in Chhattisgarh are even more vulnerable to their social location.

Compounding this about 54 cases of social boycott of Christians have also been reported, mainly in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. This reveals that Christians occupy a vastly vulnerable spot in India, with tribal Christians who are besieged by a number of structural upheavals, such as poverty, discrimination, usurping of forest and land rights, are further left in a complete travesty of justice.

Furthermore, if we look at the idea of burial, we see that the violation of the right to appropriate burial rites according to an individual’s belief systems has been declared as nothing short of sacrosanct by Indian legal and judicial system. It is a punitive offence of the Indian Penal Code to “act irresponsibly with dead bodies”, according to Legal Insider. The article cites Section 297  which reads, “Whoever, with the intent of wounding the feelings of any person or insulting the religion of any person, commits any trespass in any place of worship, on any place of sculpture, or any place set aside for the performance of funeral rites or as a depository for the remains of the dead, with the expertise that the sentiments of any person are probable to be maimed, or with the wisdom that the spirituality of any individual is likely to be affronted thereby, or offers any ignominy to any human.” 

Furthermore, in 2020, the Madras High Court stated that the right to decent burial is part of the fundamental right to life.  Thereby, violating the burial rights of an individual is a deep seated attempt to deny the fundamental rights of a marginalised community, furthermore it is linked to the rights to religion that is guaranteed by the Indian constitution.

Related:

Tribals Allege Officials Use Forest Rights Act to Harass, Demand Money; Picket DM’s Office

‘Insidious’: Arrest of Sarju Tekam for raising awareness on jal-jangal-jameen in Bastar?

How just is the idea of Uniform Civil Code for India’s Adivasis and Indigenous Peoples?

How corruption in rural development leads to floating ‘undesirable, unsafe’ projects

The post With little to offer, the BJP throws in the “conversion” card: Chhattisgarh elections appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Konta: Voters queue up outside a polling booth in Chhattisgarh on Nov 12, 2018.

Of 8,249 contestants across five states, 696 (8.4%) were women. Of these, 62 (9.1%) were elected as members of legislative assembly (MLA) in their respective state legislatures.

Chhattisgarh: was called a ‘backward’ state by Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant in an address at Jamia Millia Islamia University in April 2018. However, the state ranks the highest in the country on women’s employment indicators such as the worker-population ratio (WPR), which shows the number of persons employed per 1,000 persons. It is the first state where the Election Commission of India set up five all-women ‘sangwari‘ polling booths.
 

Note: Data for 2015-16. *Per capita income data are for 2016-17. The lowest score on an indicator is marked in red.
Source: National Family Health Survey 2015-16, Fifth Annual Employment Unemployment Survey

Mizoram: It lies at the other end of the spectrum. A state with a literacy rate of 89.27%, much higher than the national average (74.4%), and ranking second among the five states in women’s employment (WPR 52.2%) and per capita income (Rs 1,28,998) has not elected any woman to the state Assembly in 2018.

A state with 19,399 more women than men has only ever had two women ministers in the last 31 years–Lalhlimpui Hmar in 1987 and Lalawmpuii Chawngthu in 2014 (by-elections).

Mizoram also scores the highest (96%) of the five states on women empowerment indicators such as autonomy in domestic decisions.

There is no easy correlation between women’s empowerment indicators and female representation in the assembly.

Madhya Pradesh: The number of women legislators in Madhya Pradesh decreased from 29 in 2013 to 21 in 2018. The state presented the lowest numbers in women’s employment (WPR 15.9%) and women’s empowerment indicators such as say in decision-making, ownership of assets and individual agency. The state also recorded the lowest per capita income (Rs 74,590) among the five states.

The incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party had released a separate manifesto for women in Madhya Pradesh. Entitled ‘Nari Shakti Sankalp Patra‘, it promised auto-gear bikes to meritorious girl students, among other things.

Rajasthan: Ruled by a female chief minister, Vasundhara Raje, in the last term, Rajasthan saw a drop in number of female MLAs from 27 in 2013 to 23 in 2018. Although female voter-turnout (74.7%) was higher the male voter-turnout (73.8%) in the state, there was an overall drop in the female voter-turnout from 2013 (75.23%), according to State Election Commision data.

The state records the lowest female literacy rate (56.5%) and ranks last in the list of women who have completed 10-11 years of education, as IndiaSpend reported on December 5, 2018. Its  numbers for women’s employment are considerably low (WPR 18.8%).

Telangana: The young state which has only been to the polls twice elected six women MLAs (5%) to its 119 seat assembly, lower than the 2014 elections in which nine women MLAs were elected.

Legacy proved influential
Legacy played a key role in these assembly elections. Legacy seats are those that are for long occupied by members of the same political family or those with political connections, or legacy candidates.

In Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, there were 67 legacy candidates, according to an analysis published by Indian Express on December 7,2018.

Of these, 35 (52%) won, according to an IndiaSpend analysis.

In Madhya Pradesh, there were 36 legacy seats and nine were contested by women legacy candidates. Of the 21 MLAs elected in 2018, seven elected women were legacy candidates.

Rajasthan had six women candidates contest 23 legacy seats. All six who won came from strong political backgrounds.

Of the 13 women MLAs elected in Chhattisgarh, five women were legacy candidates.

“There is a shared belief in parties that women will not be able to contest as strongly as men and hence parties refuse to give independent women candidates a ticket,” Praveen Rai, a political analyst at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, told IndiaSpend. Women who have served in the party for a long time and/or have their own support base are given a ticket.

Quotas would help
Since there is no mandate for political parties to set aside seats for women contestants–as is the case at the panchayat level, where at least 33% of the seats are reserved for women–parties are partial to male candidates.

A study of the results from panchayat elections showed that quotas at that level enable more women to contest for higher-level positions in state legislatures and national parliament. Constituencies that are exposed to an average of 3.4 years of gender quotas at the local level had an additional 38.75 female candidates running for parliament–an increase of 35% between 1991 and 2009, the study published in January 2018 by the IZA Institute of Labor Economics said.

For state assemblies, an additional 67.8 female candidates ran for office in constituencies with an average exposure of 2.8 years of quotas, IndiaSpend reported on June 30, 2018, based on the article.

“One should make it mandatory [or] legislate for political parties to nominate/give tickets to a fixed number of female candidates,” Sanjay Kumar, director at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, said.

(Abhivyakti Banerjee, a Master’s student of Political Science at M.S.U., Vadodara, is an intern at IndiaSpend.)

Courtesy: India Spend
 

The post Only Chhattisgarh Elected More Women MLAs Than Last Time. Mizoram, With Top Women’s Empowerment Indicators, Elected None appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Raman Singh held the Chief Minister post of Chhattisgarh for three straight terms of fifteen years and Shivraj Singh Chouhan held Chief minister post in Madhya Pradesh from 2005 until 2018. The factor about Rajasthan which has been cited most is that the state has a tradition of giving power to BJP and Congress alternatively in assembly elections and that the win of Congress is the result of the same tradition.

However, these are not the regions where BJP was anticipated to fail. Reasons have been given from anti-incumbency to the tradition-following-voter to rule out the actual causes behind the BJPs huge loss in these elections, and believe me, the cited ones come last. And here’s why.

Hindutva agenda is not always plain sailing
If assessed correctly, the politics and rhetoric of Hindutva were continuously prevailing in the campaign structure of BJP. Introducing Yogi Adityanath—whose image has never been of a politician but a campaigner of Hindutva repute—to campaign for BJP is part of the same agenda. Just a few days before the polls, BJP’s sister organisations started lobbying in Ayodhya on November 25 actually trying to “protest” for the creation of Ram Temple. The chief organizers of the event were Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. When the question was put before the organisers that against whom they were protesting, there were no answers.

The same is with the case with the politics of Hindutva. This has been the largest outcry in the election agenda of BJP, but the enemy to the Hindutva has always been imaginary. The Hindutva policies do not have the exact idea over to stand against whom, when and why? The pre-poll act in Ayodhya and the fiasco to erect Rama’s statue along Saryu river had a clear goal: to polarise the voters in favour of BJP. But the party failed to acknowledge that not only Rajasthan and MP did not care much about this campaign, even UP did not take much interest in this issue.
Moreover, the political idea of Hindutva works mostly in the minds of youth. The youngsters between 21 to 35 years have been the target of BJP, as it conducted several campaigns and rallies in these states with the help of its students’ organisation, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) to create a young cadre. But the party surely failed to acknowledge that the idea of Hindutva would only work well if the youths get job opportunities. The unemployment rates have been highest in the recent past, and as one RSS Pracharak from Rajasthan told me, “We could not console a disappointed vote by giving it something it does not need at all.”

Hindutva’s tone could have worked well for the majority of votes if the youth was not disappointed with the basic problems and demands it has been raising.

Why we must pay more attention to the agrarian crisis
During the 2017 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, when everyone was talking about possible alliances, social equations, and caste politics in the state, one more agenda was one the table of the BJP: farm loan waivers.

The BJP firmly promised to waive farm loans and the result of such a promise also reflected in the election results. But coming to 2018 assembly elections in MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, BJP passed the agrarian baton to the Congress where it took the lead and promised to waive farm loans within a week of coming into the power.

This tactic—which was earlier exercised and excelled by BJP—was played well by Congress especially in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the states which have been hit the worst with the farmers’ issues.

Madhya Pradesh has been facing farmers’ protests—the major violent role in which was played by RSS-backed farmers groups—and Shivraj Singh Chouhan played out a high voltage drama of protesting against the protest last year, giving out idea to the rural population that he has been incompetent in dealing with farmers’ issues of the state. RSS backed organisations tried to destabilise Chouhan’s government with the help of Kailash Vijayvargiya, a veteran BJP leader who has waiting long to sit on CM’s chair in MP, but RSS could not make inroads for Kailash or any other BJP leader, leaving out the turf open for Congress to address farmers’ issues.

The situation with the Raman Singh government in Chhattisgarh was similar. He reportedly did a fair job in implementing central government schemes on the ground level but failed to address issues of farmers during his tenure. Farmers picked up the tone of Congress that it would waive off loans in ten days and went against the incumbent Raman Singh.

Moreover, the rural votes in these three states were chiefly affected by the Kisaan Long March which happened earlier this year under the umbrella of several socialist and left-leaning farmers organisations of the country. Combining the peaceful long marches, and the violent protests that happened in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat, Congress tried to cash the anti-BJP mood, which has been told just a matter of anti-incumbency.

Nehru-Gandhi-70 years and negative publicity
Narendra Modi and star campaigners in BJP have been projecting one image of a country that during its 70 years of rule, Congress did not give anything to this country. The dynasty politics of Nehru and Gandhi has also been one of the major focal points for the Narendra Modi.

But Modi failed to notice that he was giving out a golden opportunity of Congress exploiting this negative publicity by him. Every time Modi used his tone to scold Congress, Congress was also in the news and social media along Modi. Moreover, the public in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, which was already trying to get rid of incumbent government and Raje’s stubbornness, soon realised that even Modi did not have something concrete to deliver. He promised a few things from his rallies, but his tone used to return to Gandhi-Nehru bashing all the time, giving out the idea that it was tough for him to stand by the public side.

Pic from twitter

BJP’s failure to manage upper castes’ anger
On August 28, a day-long meeting including BJP’s chief ministers and deputy chief ministers was called in New Delhi. The meeting was being chaired by Narendra Modi and BJP’s own ‘Chanakya’, Amit Shah. While many issues were discussed in this meeting, the pressure was given on the Upper caste anger in many of the states. The anger was the result of the SC/ST Act, which parliament brought to restore the original bill.

Many of the Savarna pages on social media were urging upper caste voters to press NOTA in upcoming elections. The meeting on August 28 was essentially called to address this upper-caste anger. Instructions were given to CMs to reach out to upper-caste groups in their states and to make them aware of government’s welfare schemes which are equally beneficial for them. Meanwhile, strategists inside the party would work on the way to bring back its core trust base back to the party. This way, BJP thought, it could resolve the anger.

According to the party’s sources, the party could chart out a clear strategy to reach out upper castes and to make them believe that BJP is their party, as it has always been. But as a result, the BJP could not lose the tag of “upper caste party”—same as that of Congress—even after several attempts. Not that many Savarna people pressed NOTA, but they went on to press the Congress button on EVMs knowing that the latter has also the same repute between the upper caste voters of India.

Anti-incumbency, boredom and loss of Modi wave
One Twitter handle named @zoo_bear has tweeted a series of tweets after the results of the election came out on Wednesday. The series of tweets compare Modi’s rallies in certain constituencies of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, and the performance of the BJP candidates in those constituencies. In a majority of these place, the BJP candidates lost the election to Congress by huge margins and the others, the BJP won by small margins.

On the television panels, BJP leaders and spokespersons have been claiming that there is no loss of Modi wave and state election reflecting the nation’s mood is not a wise way to think. But, seeing the actual performance of BJP candidates in those areas tells a completely different story.
On the day of the elections results, Indian Express published a report telling if the mood of the nation goes like this, BJP can lose as much as 30 Loksabha seats from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan. BJP has also sensed it quickly, that is why it has sent an emergency note Intelligence Bureau (IB) asking it to assess the mood of the nation and submit a detailed report in the following weeks.

In the past as well, IB submitted reports to Modi-Shah predicting the mood of the voters before election results in these five states. Moreover, the IB reports are said to have taken as case studies to predict the election results and make strategies further.

Another important factor has been the negligence of Schedule Tribes and Schedule Castes in these three states, especially Chhattisgarh. The continuous anti-reservation gimmicks played out by BJP in Telangana and Madhya Pradesh to attract Savarna votes in its favours turned badly against itself in Chhattisgarh, where the rural farming population is mostly tribe.

As a political party, BJP must be mulling for future strategies. If sources are to be believed, it will also intensify the Ram Temple movement (with unstable and foggy agenda) to polarise voters in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Uttarakhand to regain its hold on Hindu votes. The sign is clear that BJP is facing a tough road ahead, but one can only wait to see if the new and aggressive campaign strategies will work or not.

Courtesy: Two Circles

The post How a variety of factors, not just anti-incumbency, contributed to BJP’s demise in three states appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
Raipur: After winning a massive majority in Chhattisgarh assembly elections, Congress will make the government in the state with Bhupesh Baghel as the Chief Minister. On Thursday, even before the CM candidate was announced, news reports observed that files stuffed in two trucks were burned. Intelligence officials allegedly drove the truck at 10.30 am to dump the files at Avant Vihar ground and burned them to a crisp. The files were allegedly burning till noon in the presence of two DSP officers.
 
All confidential reports and documents related to the government are usually found with the intelligence agencies. Many rumours are floating in the state with regards to this incident. Many are discussing the political fallout of this burning. The intelligence agencies collect confidential information on governments which includes phone call records and more. Many of the department’s top officials are silent on this file burning.
 
DSP Ajay Lakda, who was present at the place of the incident, and other officials have claimed that only scrap paper was burnt. Many are questioning this claim because why were papers burnt by intelligence agents right after a new government came to power in the state? Extra precautions taken by the officials while burning the files is also being seen as a cause for concern.
 
According to eyewitnesses, the officials stood there until all the files were completely charred. Not just that, instructions were given to pick up the files that hadn’t burnt completely and were set on fire again. The way in which the trucks were filled with bundles of files minutes after the office opened in the morning, it means that the papers were sorted only a few days ago at the department. The bundles were allegedly ready by Wednesday. The officials had already selected a place to burn the files. Their vehicles flanked the truck when they were being transported to the spot.
 
It is unclear as to what was in the files that were burned and on whose orders was this executed.
 
(Article originally published in Hindi Sabrang)
 

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The results are out. The people have rejected the loudmouths who want India to be a permanent conflict zone. I have said many times that our political parties have not been able to tap the wider dissatisfaction on the ground.
 
The Congress has performed well but more than that, it is the people who gave a kick to those who dominantly want to thrust a Ram Temple agenda, gaumutra on the people when they were demanding jobs, education and land reforms.
 
People got bored with the sluggishness of the results but that is the trend. I can bet it is going to happen in the Lok Sabha polls too and we will now have the results out in two days as used to happen during the physical voting process when EVMs were not there. The reason is clear that those who have enjoyed power, would not like to leave it that easily and hence they make every effort to pressurise the officials. Madhya Pradesh has been a case where these laws were violated.
 
The victory for Congress is huge and the credit must go to #RahulGandhi, the Congress President, who along with his mother were mocked, humiliated and insulted by the absolutely communalised, Brahmanised and corrupted media. The anchors let the saffron goondas speak whatever they wish to on their shows. A new trend began after Modi came to power. The prime-time shows would invite one leader from Congress, one from BJP, one from VHP or the Sangh, one Sanghi journalist or one ‘neutral’ expert with sympathies for the Sangh. The anchors played the role of propagandists of Sangh Parivar. The vicious campaign that they launched to create divisions and communalise the situation needs to be studied. It does not matter whether the party win with one seat or two but what is important is that despite this propaganda, added with enormous financial power, the BJP lost and their defeat is significant, a signal that in the coming days, people are going to settle the issue themselves.
 
Despite the gravity of the economic crisis, Narendra Modi and his advisers continued to harp on Ram Mandir and the liars of the Sangh are saying on TV channels that it was not a political issue. It was a cultural issue for them. Who has given them the authority to speak for Hindus? Yogi Adityanath became a joke as he can’t give a single example of good governance in his state and the BJP made him a role model because they do not believe in governance, they only want to divide the society and keep spreading the poison.
 
We are happy that the BSP, CPM and other parties too have performed well in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. For a longer term, I would advise and had always advised an all India alliance between BSP and Congress. It is the need of the hour. You can go and do whatever you wish after 10 years but please do come together. The situation in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan would have been starkly different where the winning margins are less than a thousand votes in many constituencies.
 
Yesterday’s press conference by Rahul Gandhi was definitely refreshing of a leader whose time has arrived now. He remained humble and it felt that he understood how important it was to keep the opposition together and like-minded people along with you. Congress leaders have a habit of forgetting the ground realities once they are in power. It is time Congress sends the message to their karyakartas that the battle is not won yet and unless they unite the opposition and dislodge the current hate regime, they won’t sit idle.
 
I won’t go into debates about who should become the chief minister as it is their party prerogative, but we hope that the party will not dilly dally in the probes against mob lynching. The party should not appease anyone but just follow the rule of law. We do understand the dynamics of democratic polity but we want Congress and all other parties to adhere to rule of law and not allow any citizen of the country to feel left out.
 
Congress has not uttered a word on Dalits, Adivasis and Muslims. I know Congress continues to talk about the ‘Garib’ and ‘Kisans.’ I can understand that the party wants to play it safe, but we demand that our questions are answered, the public realities acknowledged and we want them to ensure that the govt will act honestly and not indulge in dirty games.

We hope your governments will take stringent action against the cow terrorists. You need not say anything but we know the Hindutva machinery will start playing the games of Muslim appeasement. Only an ideologically clear leadership can take these goons head-on.
 
Congress can learn a few lessons from Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister of Kerala and his handling of various issues created by the Sangh Parivar to vitiate the social harmony in the state through their Sabarimala game plan. Congress needs to fight the Sangh on ideological grounds and it can do that following the path of Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Jawahar Lal Nehru as well as EVR Periyar and others. We have a great legacy of Jyoti Ba Phule, Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rahul Sankrityayan and many others. Nothing wrong in evoking these names in the greater interest of all. Those who don’t learn from history, can’t move ahead. No need for a Mahagatbandhan. It is important for Congress to stitch alliances at the local level and give space to smaller parties and social movements. Don’t get carried away with your success.
 
For the day, greetings to all. It is a morning of great hope for a nation which had been depressed in the past few years. The challenge is not yet over but all the parties must keep the momentum till the elections 2019 and defeat the forces of hatred and division in our society.
 

The post The dawn for three state elections should stay till 2019 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Chhattisgarh assembly election result by 12 midnight on Election Commission of India site

But very few would be aware of the fact that the present Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Raghubar Das was born in Chhattisgarh. And on several occasions, it has been heard during protests against chief minister that, ‘Raghubar Das go back to Chhattisgarh’. Most recent, it was para-teachers who had shouted it during their protest at the foundation day function on November 15 in Ranchi. With BJP witnessing its biggest loss (Congress winning 68 seats out of 90) since the formation of Chhattisgarh, the opposition in Jharkhand will be seen using this slogan more often.

Mineral rich state, Jharkhand is riddled with several political issue including – locals versus outsiders and Bharatiya Janata Janta (BJP) having appointed the first non-tribal chief minister of the state—Raghubar Das. But Das, a former Tata Steel employee who later plunged into active politics, hails from Chhattisgarh. During his four-year -term, the opposition has accused the chief minister of inducting outsiders, in the government job sector. All these have created resentment among the locals.

So a drubbing of BJP in Chhattisgarh, where they had ruled for 15 consecutive years, may have a direct impact in Jharkhand’s politics.

Jharkhand has 81 assembly seats, and in 2014, BJP had fallen short of securing a majority after having won only 36 seats. Later, 6 MLAs from Babulal Marandi’s Jharkhand Vikash Morcha (JVM) switched side and joined the saffron party, which helped BJP to reach the magical figure.
With it getting evident that the opposition will have to make a Mahagathbandhan (Megha Alliance) in the approaching 2019 Lok Sabha election, to wrestle off BJP from power in center. BJP at present has 12 MPs from 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand. But after BJP tasting its worst defeat in Chhattisgarh Assembly Polls, it looks like things might get a bit difficult for the party not only during the upcoming Lok Sabha election but in Jharkhand Assembly Polls too.

The mood looks set, as former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Hemant Soren was quick to tweet on the results: “Today’s #AssemblyElections2018Results show peoples’ resentment, anger & frustration with the ruling #bjp state & central govts. It is a clarion call to #Mission2019, a battle of harmony Vs communalism, peace Vs hate politics & upholding the cause of the marginalised in our society (sic).”

While the first Chief Minister of Jharkhand and JVM Chief Babulal Marandi speaking to eNewsroom said, “Narendra Modi was spreading communalism, and was indulging in cow and Mandir-Masjid politics, which people of India has clearly rejected. It will have its impact on Jharkhand too. In fact, the reverse counting for the BJP government has just begun.”

First published on https://enewsroom.in/
 

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The post Assembly Verdict: Different Outcomes, But BJP is Biggest Loser appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
Representation Image

Every BJP worker in Chhattisgarh knows that situations are dire for the party during this election. The officers who trust the management have planned something to win on the day votes will be counted. If you are a voter in Chhattisgarh, the following things will happen on that day. If Congress, the election commission and the vote counters are aggressive and alert, they still have time to liberate the state from BJP.
 

1. With the help of administrative officials, BJP will play its games in those seats in constituencies where there is a match between three different factions. 
2. BJP also has eyes on those seats where Congress won in the last election with a less margin. 
3. You must have noticed that many places had defunct and damaged EVM machines on the day of voting. The conspiracy was to damage the machines so that the people who came early morning to vote would not return to cast them. The party knows that the people are disappointed with the rule and how the party has conducted itself in the last five years. They would want to take revenge the first chance they get by voting as early as possible. It should be noted that most machines went defunct in the 8-11 am slot. Most damaged machines were found in the areas with a strong Congress hold. It was Congress who complained to the EC that EVMs were not functioning. Did BJP complain about anything? Remember that all the damaged machines were from Gujarat. The same region from where PM Modi shouts about Digital India. 
4. On the day of voting, BJP tactfully and cleverly manipulated the machines by using time management. 
5. In the early phases of vote counting, Congress will be ahead and then BJP will start soaring. 
6. BJP will win in the seats which were being contested by three or four factions so that nobody suspects anything. 
7. If there is a strong competition between parties and if Congress is in a position to win from a small margin, the returning officer can play BJP’s agent and announce the result in their favour. Once he gives the results, that’s the end of it. Then the case will keep dragging just like Mohammad Akbar’s case. Ramesh Bais lost the Lok Sabha election in the same way because of the returning officer of Raipur. After fighting the case in the court for many years, the order came in their favour.  
8. The party and the agent’s objection during the counting process is of particular importance. If the agent or the party can not object on time, the game changes.  
9. The agent who sits on the counting table is of special importance. The people of the ruling party make special purchases here. 
10.  If the receipt from the VV PAT and the number of votes cast in the machine are different, understand that the game has already been played. How many people cast their ballot in which booth, every agent has this knowledge. VV PAT receipts should be counted without mistake. Along with the information that which party received more slips and which ones saw a decline.  
11. Be alert that the results for the seats which are being gamed by BJP will be delayed. Congress will have to show strength and resistance when the votes are counted.

 
(Note: The above article was shared by a senior journalist from Chhattisgarh. Due to critical reportage on the oppressive policies of the government, he was transferred to another state before the election.)
 

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Raipur:  After the capital city of Raipur, the Bilaspur constituency is the most important seat in the state. Usually, there are two lakh voters registered here. To estimate the ongoing the sentiment with regards to the election, we went to many bylanes and areas to understand people’s views. Eight of 10 people said that the person who has been running the state for the last 15 years on behalf of the ruling party needs to go because they have ruined the city. Whatever happens, we will not vote for him. Many are convinced that he is going to lose. Then suddenly, only the day of the election, 35,000 people in the constituency find out that their names have been removed from the voter list. Which means that 35,000 votes that could have gone to the oppositions, almost 17.5 per cent people, were rendered useless in one stroke.
 
The second phase of the polls where 72 seats in 19 districts were being contested ended on Nov 20. A total of 1079 candidates including 119 women were included in this phase. According to the Election Commission, 71.93 per cent of the people voted in the second phase. In the first phase on Nov 12, the voting percentage of 18 seats in the Naxal affected areas was 76.42 per cent. The total combined voting percentage of the state was 74.17. On Tuesday, about 1.54 crore people (77.53 lakh male voters, 76.46 lakh female voters and 877 transgender voters) exercised their voting rights.
 
Bilaspur: The Kingmaker
Taking stock of the constituencies that are being contested, Bilaspur is Chattisgarh’s biggest division with 24 seats in its kitty. Out of which five are reserved for Scheduled Tribes and four for Scheduled Castes. Whoever takes an edge in this division, is said to form the government.
 
Bilaspur is also the district headquarter and the High Court of Chhattisgarh is also located here. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, BSP supremo Mayawati, Aam Aadmi Party’s Sanjay Singh and Gopal Rai have used all their power in this division to attract voters.
 
Bilaspur is a crucial seat for BJP as Amar Agarwal from the party has been the MLA of this region for the last 15 years. Talking about ground realities, his defeat was considered certain, and many placed bets that Congress candidate Shailesh Pandey will be victorious.
 
Over the years, due to the poor sewage work, Bilaspur was overtaken by dust and dirt. People were either dying by falling in pits or by contracting diseases. The anger reached disproportionate heights and the MLA got wind of the disappointment. He must have wanted to end this disgrace. A video of an envelope containing an electoral slip with his photo and a Rs.500 note was seen. (This could also be a prank.)

The city of Bilaspur has become nothing but dug roads. To exacerbate the disappointment of the residents, the repair of roads began a month before the elections. The corrupt people try to show how honest they are by laying a thin coat of asphalt on the road and think that people will forget their past suffering.
 
The people of Bilaspur have exposed the ugly designs of these corrupt ministers. The repair work stopped a day before the elections. There were reports of cash, sarees, alcohol being handed out in exchange for votes. The people are not as stupid as the minister would like to believe. Social workers and human rights defenders were labelled ‘Urban Naxals’, divisions between temples and mosques were being played up, ugly comments about Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were made and many advertisements were on TV channels. Every trick that could garner votes was tried. The tricks didn’t pay off and the day of election Nov 20 had come.
 
This time everyone was convinced that the sitting MLA will lose. Meanwhile, people in the polling booths of Bilaspur started shouting. Hundreds of people were going to the polling booth in every ward, but they were returning without casting a vote. The names of these people were missing from the voter’s list. There were many people who had voted the last time.
 
Prashant Thakur, a resident of Shanti Nagar in Bilaspur, said that the name of his entire family was not in the list, but everyone had voted in the last election. Arun Bhange, a resident of Masanganj, said that there are nine members in his house, out of which seven people couldn’t cast their votes as their names were missing from the voter’s list.
 
Most of the missing names would’ve voted against BJP
Around 35,000 voters could not cast their votes because their names were missing from the voter’s list.
 
There were some similarities in the way the above two voters were not allowed to vote.
 
One had asked people to not vote for on his social media and the other had a Congress flag hoisted outside his workplace.
 
It could be a coincidence that somebody spoke against BJP and didn’t get to cast their vote.

If only 10-20 names had been missing, it could have been seen as an oversight. But 35,000? It can’t merely be a coincidence. It is enough to make a losing candidate win.  
 
Is this a political understanding? There should be a serious investigation in this case.
 

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