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Madhya Pradesh election: Price rise may take sheen offChouhan’s welfare schemes
The welfare scheme is a big-ticket intervention that Chauhan, who is often referred to as mama (uncle), is hopeful will overshadow the grouses against him and his cabinet, and return the Bharatiya Janata Party to power.
“Mama ko behen pasand hai, behnoi nahi (uncle likes sister, not her husband),” was Sumer Singh Tomar’s quip to convey dismay and disappointment over inflation in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh. His wisecrack drew raucous laughter from friends and bystanders, but seemed to sum up the mood on the ground.
A resident of Sukalya village of Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas district, Tomar runs a small shop in the village. He was referring to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan’s sops for women through schemes such as the Ladli Behna Yojna that gives them ₹1,250 a month, but did not fail to underscore how the men have been left to battle price rise and inflation.
The welfare scheme is a big-ticket intervention that Chauhan, who is often referred to as mama (uncle), is hopeful will overshadow the grouses against him and his cabinet, and return the Bharatiya Janata Party to power.
On most days Tomar and his friends meet up for an afternoon huddle with card games, bhajans (devotional songs) and friendly banter. Conversations flow easily, from the price of commodities and promises by politicians to a bit about the ongoing wars and unrest.
When HT caught up with the group on a lazy October noon to ask about the upcoming state election on November 17, they spoke about a spate of issues, particularly price rise, and the anger was conveyed through acerbic witticisms that is commonplace in the state.
The anger against the government for failing to tame inflation is a recurrent theme in the Malwa region.
“They think ₹1,200 is good enough to feed families, animals and then some. Prices of everything have gone up, making it hard for us,” Tomar said. The BJP’s promise of increasing the sum to ₹3,000 has done little to assuage anger.
Tomar and his friends are largely BJP supporters. They concur that accomplishments of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government are by far unparalleled. Mobile phones are whipped out to corroborate claims of how India has become a “Vishwaguru (world leader) by hosting the G20 summit” or how it was Modi’s “vyaktigat saakh (personal goodwill)” that put a temporary halt in the ongoing Ukraine war.
Economic disarray
While they credit the political establishment for its “mazboot nirnay (firm principles)” on the international front, they mince no words in criticising the economy.
“Sarkar ki arthvyastha avyavisthit hai (the economic policy is in disarray),” said Aman Bhadoria, who ran a business of spare parts with his brother-in-law in Indore. The business took a nosedive just before the pandemic hit. “We were a small business not equipped to handle the paperwork and other formalities of GST (goods and services tax) and before that there was notebandi (demonetisation),” he said. “Being small traders, we couldn’t keep up and sold the business.”
Bhadoria now runs a small shop selling knick knacks in the village. “I do not follow the intricacies of economic policies but feel only the rich are getting richer. Gareeb ko muft khana hi nahi chahiye, aur bhi zaroorat hai (the poor need more than just free food),” he said.
While the government claims it gives money to women under the Ladli Behna scheme, there are many who complain of discrepancies. Neelam, who uses one name and gets widow pension of ₹600 a month, said she has not got the benefits from Ladli Behna. At the panchayat office, where she had come to deposit some papers, Neelam said she makes ends meet by working as a casual labourer in a factory.
In Bhopal, a group of women, some of whom are beneficiaries of the scheme, said the money is empowering, but with prices soaring skywards, the benefits are too low.
“We don’t even know how the governments selects the beneficiaries. A lot of women from our locality have filled the forms, but only a few get the money,” said Pooja Gaur, a homemaker in Bhopal. “They said we will have to wait till elections are over.”
While free food grains to 80 crore Indians has been right on top of the ruling BJP’s list of accomplishments, there is a growing sense of disappointment among the people over the lack of better avenues.
Alarmed over anger
Alarmed by the prospects of anger and disappointment propelling voters towards the Congress, which has done well in Malwa in 2018, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has pushed for aggressive campaigning in the region. The ideological fount of the BJP is hopeful that the gambit of fielding senior leaders such as Kailash Vijayvargiya from a constituency in Indore will pay off.
“The RSS has always been a very strong presence in Malwa. They had in 2018 flagged problems of leadership that went unaddressed, and the results were for all to see. This time, the party has been urged to make amends,” said a BJP leader who did not wish to be named.
Fielding leaders such as Vijayvargiya, a former national general secretary and a well-known face in the state, is expected to have a positive impact on the adjoining seats as well, he said.Vijayvargiya’s opponent is the incumbent Congress MLA Sanjay Shukla.
“He is contesting from Indore 1, but his presence and involvement is expected to pull votes in all the constituencies of Indore district,” said the leader.
Of the nine assembly seats in Indore district, the BJP had won five and the Congress four. It is part of the Malwa-Nimar region that has 66 seats in the 230-member assembly and is seeing a fierce battle between the Congress and the BJP. The Congress, which won 30 seats in the region in 2018, is pulling out all stops to gain an edge.
The Congress is also hopeful of making inroads in constituencies where the BJP cadre is visibly upset over ticket distribution. In Ujjain, for instance, the decision to field two-time MLA Mohan Yadav from Ujjain South was opposed by the cadre. It is a similar story in several other seats, including Pintu Joshi in Indore 3.
“Ticket distribution is always tricky. We are confident that our workers will set aside all grievances by the time elections are held,” a second BJP functionary said. He, however, admitted that in places such as Sehore, there is visible anger against the party among Dalits and minorities.
“The party has been working for the uplift of the weak and the marginalised, but the Congress has managed to get a toehold by talking about the caste census,” he said, seeking anonymity.
The Congress is counting on anti-incumbency against the chief minister and the party is focussing on inflation and corruption as the two major failures of the government.
“In its 18 years in power, the BJP ruined every institution and system. MP’s economy was ruined. The youth are unemployed,” former chief minister Kamal Nath said while releasing the Congress manifesto last month.
Keeping up pressure on the BJP, the Congress has issued an aarop patra (charge sheet) against the ruling party, listing alleged instances of corruption and scams.
Sharp exchanges between the Congress and the BJP on corruption and scams, however, do not resonate as much as the issue of price rise.
Bela Chaurasia, who stood outside the Mahakal Temple Corridor in Ujjain and earns from applying vermillion to people visiting the temple, said that inflation has driven her family and those like hers deeper into poverty.
“More visitors have started coming after the corridor was built, and our earnings are marginally higher, but it is futile, because mehangaai aag ki tarah hai (inflation is a raging fire),” she said.
