By fulfilling 34 of its 36 poll promises, Cong hopes to cruise to victory

NEW DELHI: With the Assembly elections just a few weeks away, the Congress hopes to return to power in Chhattisgarh with brute majority riding high on the work done by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

To its credit, the Bhupesh Baghel Government in Chhattisgarh has fulfilled 34 out of the 36 poll promises it made to the people in 2018 and also ensured the safety of women and girls in the state.

The Congress is yet to finalise its candidates for the two-phase election that is scheduled to be held on November 7 and November 17, even as the party's Central Election Committee (CEC) chaired by Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by CPP Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and many senior leaders including Rahul Gandhi, held deliberations for the same.

According to party leaders, the list will be out soon, keeping the election dates in mind. A party leader, who did not wish to be named, highlighted the works of the Congress government in Chhattisgarh. He told IANS, "The Baghel-led government in the state has worked tirelessly to undo the damage done by the BJP government under Raman Singh in the last 15 years."

The party leader said that the era of scams and corruption, the hallmark of the BJP government for 15 years was ended by Baghel and the Congress government brought prosperity into the lives of every family in the state.

Citing the figures, the leader said that in 2017, when the Raman Singh government lost power, the unemployment rate was at a whopping 22 per cent.

"However, in the last five years the unemployment rate has come down to 0.5 per cent, which is the best in the country," the party leader said.

Dwelling on the issues of women empowerment and their safety, the party leader said that as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, crimes against women in Chhattisgarh have come down by 68 per cent in the last five years.

"During the BJP’s rule in Chhattisgarh, the state occupied the fifth spot in the NCRB report on crimes against women and girls. Now it has come down to the 16th place. Still a lot more needs to be done for ensuring the safety of women in the state," the party leader noted.

"The Chhattisgarh government even launched an application where records of people indulging in crimes against women/girls were uploaded and such people were barred from getting government jobs in the state. This led to a massive decline in crimes against women," the party leader said.

Meanwhile, the Congress, which is hoping for a second-consecutive term in the tribal-dominated state, is also banking on the welfare work its government has done for the farmers, the youth and students. It is also hoping that the work it has done for preserving and promoting the state’s culture, which has been its major hallmark in the last five years, will also pay off.

The party leader said that the state government was able to open the 3,000 government schools that were closed during the BJP government’s rule in the state.

"The Bhupesh Baghel government opened 400 schools in Bastar region, which were shut down during the Raman Singh government," the Congress leader said.

Pointing out that the state was giving the maximum Minimum Support Price (MSP) for procuring rice, the Congress leader said that the Chhattisgarh government was paying a MSP of Rs 2,600 per quintal to the farmers, which had helped them a lot in the last five years.

"The Congress government fulfilled 34 out of 36 poll promises, including waiving off farm loans within two hours of coming to power in the state. Thus the people have assurance that the Congress will deliver on its election promises," the party leader said.

The Chhattisgarh government has also worked on the Ram Van Gaman Paripath corridor in the state, which connects all sites where Lord Ram stopped during his exile. The Congress leader pointed out that the BJP, which talks about the Hindu religion and the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, during its 15 year-regime in the state, neglected the Ram Van Gaman Paripath corridor project.

He said that the Kaushalya mandir is an important milestone in Baghel’s politics of Hindu symbolism, which began with the sale of cow dung and the promotion of cow urine products.Baghel had even mandated the painting of all government buildings using materials derived from cow dung and initiated the Kaushalya temple renovation project in July 2020, just days before the foundation ceremony of Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir.

Apart from this, the Baghel government has also focused on Chhattisgarh’s cultural identity with the tagline ‘Garbho nava Chhattisgarh (we will build a new Chhattisgarh)’

“The focus is on Chhattisgarhiyat, their cuisine and folk songs… and Ram is an important part of it,” the Congress leader said.

The party leader added that the Chief Minister has opened the gates of his residence for the common man, which has connected him to the people like never before and given them a sense of pride in their culture and traditions.

Commenting on the Raman Singh-effect on the Assembly polls in the state , the party leader said that he had lost his hold over the people and was not a powerful force anymore like he used to be five years ago.

However, the list of candidates released by the BJP for the state has the stamp of the Raman Singh camp on it, with most of the leaders fielded by the party facing corruption charges. Naming a few of the BJP candidates, the party leader said that Amar Agarwal, OP Chaudhary, Bhaiyyalal Rajwale, Nankiram Kanwar, Punnulal Mohale and Shivratan Sharma are all alleged to be involved in corruption.

The party leader also said that Raman Singh is not a factor anymore and the BJP has no face in the state.

Explaining, how the Congress plans to win the Assembly polls, the party leader said that State unit chief Deepak Baij had set up a ‘war room’, which is interacting with the booth-level workers on a daily basis and getting the feedback from the ground.

Even Chief Minister Baghel, through his ‘Sankalp Shivir’ is routinely interacting with booth-level workers and on the basis of the ground situation the party will easily pass the benchmark of 75 seats in the state.