Chhattisgarh : BJP fields a riot victim, a riot accused against two ministers

Experts see this as an attempt by the BJP to push the ‘Hindutva’ narrative in parts of the northern plains of Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR: The Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) has given tickets to a riot victim and to an accused in a riot case in two constituencies where communal violence broke out in the last two years.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its second list of 64 candidates for Chhattisgarh on Monday (ANI FILE PHOTO)

Experts see this as an attempt by the BJP to push the ‘Hindutva’ narrative in parts of the northern plains of Chhattisgarh.

In Monday’s list, Ishwar Sahu, whose son Bhuvaneshvar Sahu was killed in a communal clash in Biranpur village in April this year, has been given a ticket to fight in the Saja constituency in Durg district where the current MLA is state minister Ravindra Chaubey.

In the second case, Vijay Sharma, an accused in the riots that took place in Kawardha in October 2021, will fight election in Karwadha constituency, where minister Mohammad Akbar is the MLA.

Both Chaubey and Akbar have won from their constituencies six times and four times respectively, and are considered influential in their seats.

The first list of 21 candidates was released on August 17; candidates for the remaining five seats haven’t been announced yet.

Although the Congress is yet to release their list of candidates, both Chaubey and Akbar are expected to be again given tickets.

Political commentator Harsh Dubey said it’s a clear sign that the BJP is attempting to build up the “Hindutva” narrative by announcing Sahu’s and Sharma’s candidatures.

The background is this: Riots in Birnapur took place on April 9 2023 in which Bhuvaneshwar Sahu was allegedly killed by Muslim youths over a petty dispute. Two days later, two Muslims—father and son – were killed by a Hindu mob. A total 14 people were arrested in the case and all are in jail.

Communal riots in Kawardha broke out in October 2021 over a religious flag in which former chief minister Raman Singh’s son Abhishek Singh and MP from Rajanandgaon, Santosh Pandey, were among the accused.

Over 80 people were booked for their involvement in the Kawardha violence but trial in the case is yet to commence as some among them have not been arrested.

“Sharma was arrested for instigating violence and is on currently on bail . There were 82 accuse in which 73 have been arrested so far” a senior district police officer said.

“Both the seats are important to us. We believe that by giving ticket to Ishwar Sahu we will cater to both Hindu and Sahu (caste) votes in plains. The Kawardha violence is the biggest incident in the recent past in that area. We have been raising the issue of these violent incidents including Narayanpur’s Christian conversion violence in every meeting,” said a BJP leader, who did not wish to be named.

The BJP leader added that Sahu never contested any election nor does he have a background in politics but his candidature will help the party. In fact, the party has big plans for Sahu in the upcoming polls.

“The top leaders of BJP are planning to send Sahu to around 40 assembly constituencies where Sahus are in significant numbers.”

“Sharma (who has been fielded from Kawardha) is vocal and aggressive plus he has the support of the Bajrang Dal,” said another BJP leader, explaining why he is being fielded.

It is worth mentioning that Sahus are around 12 % of the population in Chhattisgarh, and is the biggest chunk of any Other Backward Classes (OBC) community in the state.

Asked whether the BJP is trying to raise the issue of communal violence in Biranpur (Bemetara district) by fielding local villager Sahu, chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said communal violence is not an issue in Chhattisgarh.

“No matter how hard they try, it will not be an issue. There were other BJP workers in Saja (from where Sahu has been fielded). He (Sahu) is a purely non-political person,” Baghel said.

Experts believe that the BJP is attempting to formulate a strong Hindutva narrative in the Durg region, which may have an impact on at least 10 seats.

“…BJP’s ticket distribution reflects that they are trying to set ‘Hindutva’ narrative , especially in the Kawardha, Bemetara belt. In the last four years, two incidents of communal clashes occurred in the same region. In one of the incidents, Bhuvaneshvar Sahu, was allegedly lynched to death and now BJP has given ticket his father Ishwar Sahu. Similarly, from the Kawardha seat, who is represented by another senior cabinet minister Mohammad Akbar, BJP has placed former ABVP state president and party’s general Secretary Vijay Sharma, who has an image of aggressive Hindu leader,” said Dubey, who has been quoted earlier.

In the 2018 assembly polls, the Congress won 68 of the total 90 seats while the BJP finished a distant second with 15. The Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J), founded by former chief minister, the late Ajit Jogi, bagged five seats and its ally Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won in two segments.

The ruling party further consolidated its hold in the state with victories in bypolls in five assembly seats after 2018. The Congress tally currently stands at 71.