BJP seeks to get caste arithmetic right, counter Madhya Pradesh anti-incumbency

Rahul Singh Lodhi, 45, one of the 28 first-time ruling Bharatiya Janata Pary (BJP) lawmakers in Madhya Pradesh, was last week inducted into chief miner Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s council of miners months before assembly elections are due in the state. He was chosen even as several minerial aspirants who have been assembly members multiple times were overlooked. The BJP has announced a slew of measures to blunt infighting and anti-incumbency in Madhya Pradesh. (Hindustan Times) No official reason was given for the BJP’s preference for Lodhi, who is a nephew of senior BJP leader Uma Bharti. But his caste and family background are believed to have tilted the scales in his favour. Lodhi’s elevation is seen as part of the BJP’s attempt to retain support among the Other Backward Classes (OBC), the single largest voting bloc estimated to be around 50% of the population. Gaurishankar Bisen, an OBC, and Rajendra Shukla, a Brahmin, were the other two miners inducted into the council of miners. Shukla’s inclusion is seen as an attempt to placate the Brahmins of the Vindhya region, who are believed to have been upset over the demolition of the house of a Brahmin man accused of urinating on a tribal. Apart from attempting to get the caste arithmetic right, the BJP has announced a slew of measures to blunt infighting and anti-incumbency in Madhya Pradesh, where it has been in power since 2003 barring 18 months from 2018 to 2020. Chouhan has announced the creation of the new dricts of Mauganj and Pandhurna in Chhindwara, the stronghold of Congress leader Kamal Nath. Congress won all seven assembly seats in Chhindwara in 2018 when the party returned to power under Nath’s leadership. Chouhan launched the Ladli Behna scheme in June to provide ₹1,000 monthly to women with a family income of less than ₹2.50 lakh annually. As many as 12.5 million women are expected to benefit from the scheme. On August 27, Chouhan announced ₹250 cash gifts for women on auspicious occasions and LPG cylinders at ₹450 during the month of Shravan. He promised power bills of just ₹100 monthly for the poor women. The government has also pulled out all the stops to ensure trial runs of metro trains in Bhopal and Indore ahead of the elections. On Saturday last, Chouhan unveiled a metro train model in Bhopal. On August 22, he launched Mukhyamantri Seekho Kamao Yojna to train youths for jobs and ₹8000 to ₹10000 stipends monthly as per educational qualifications. Laying of the foundation stone for a Sant Ravidas Temple in Bundelkhand, gratuity up to ₹10 lakh for contractual employees, and loan interest waiver for farmers are among other measures undertaken to negate anti-incumbency. Political analyst Dinesh Gupta said the BJP was wary of anti-incumbency and the Congress’s five pre-poll guarantees. “That is why Chouhan is trying to counter every Congress plank. He is also trying to consolidate the party’s base in every segment of voters.” Union home miner Amit Shah has repeatedly visited Madhya Pradesh as part of attempts to counter anti-incumbency and infighting. Polls in Madhya Pradesh and four other states, which account for roughly 15% of India’s population, are expected to set the tone for the 2024 national elections. The Congress hopes to return to power. It was voted to power in 2018 but lost it in March 2020 when 22 legislators quit the party and resigned from the state assembly. In May, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the Congress will form the next government in the state and win 150 of the 230 seats. The BJP lost power to Congress in Himachal Pradesh in 2022 and Karnataka in May. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ranjan Srivastava leads HT’s coverage from Bhopal. He has spent more than two decades in journalism in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, covering political and other affairs. For the past 16 years, he has been working in Madhya Pradesh. …view detail