July 20, 1998

Assembly elections are still five months away in Madhya Pradesh but Chief Minister Digvijay Singh has already hit the campaign trail armed with sops and schemes for every section.

By N K Singh

The Madhya Pradesh Government virtually functioned from the lock-up at Delhi's Parliament Street police station for three hours on July 3. In an unprecedented move, Chief Minister Digvijay Singh courted arrest outside Parliament House along with his 45 ministers and a host of Congress leaders to protest against the Union Government's failure to provide relief to hailstorm-affected farmers in the state. Never before has an officiating chief minister courted arrest in the country.

Predictably, Digvijay's action evoked a sharp reaction from his opponents, with Vikram Verma (BJP), Leader of the Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, saying, "It is unfortunate that a constitutional functionary went to the national capital to participate in an agitation and violate the law." But an aggressive Digvijay is unfazed by such criticism. Leading a delegation of Congressmen, he told Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, "The BJP is guilty of political opportunism. Before the elections, its leaders had promised compensation of Rs 5,000 per acre to hailstorm-affected farmers. Once it came to power, it forgot its promise." Besides, the agitation served its purpose: to rouse the giant Congress party in the state from its slumber and gear it up for the assembly elections in November this year. And it wasn't an isolated move meant to ensure his political survival either.

Over the past month, the Madhya Pradesh Government has taken a series of decisions primarily aimed at appeasing the voters and helping the Congress at the hustings. The chief minister's basket is overflowing with goodies for every section in the state -- waiving agricultural loans, regularising encroachments on government land, freeing traders from "inspector raj" and playing to the gallery by increasing the number of districts in the state from 45 to 68.

And it's not just the chief minister who is in the election mode in the state, the entire Congress party has been galvanised into activity with eyes firmly on the polls. On July 2, state Assembly Speaker Shrinivas Tiwari led a march of Congressman of the Rewa area -- part of his constituency -- to neighbouring Uttar Pradesh to protest against a dam on river Tamas that has been causing floods in Madhya Pradesh.

Digvijay's poll-eve programme began with a brilliant public-relations exercise, which included a week-long "village contact" programme in May-end. During the programme, the chief minister made surprise visits to villages for spot assessment of various development programmes and to acquaint himself with the problems of the villagers. State ministers and more than 60,000 government officers were pressed into service to reach all the 71,526 villages of Madhya Pradesh.

Several heads rolled in the aftermath of the drive; 351 erring officers and employees were suspended and disciplinary action was taken against 258 others. Says Chief Secretary K.S. Sharma: "It was a massive exercise which will go a long way in helping the Government gear up its machinery in the rural areas." The Opposition was, of course, quick to dub the entire exercise as a political stunt aimed at "fooling" the people in the election year. Digvijay denies the charge: "The programme is a sincere effort to mobilise government machinery at the lower level."

The rural areas, a traditional Congress bastion, got the most generous gifts. The farmers, already provided free electricity, received loans and seeds even though some of them had been declared defaulters by cooperative societies. In the Tawa and Chambal irrigation command areas, the loans of farmers have been waived. Asked why he delayed these welfare measure for so long, Singh quipped: "It takes time to formulate a policy." Was the decision political? "Everything is political."

There was something for the urban poor too. From July 1 the state Government began the process of giving ownership rights to some 20 lakh slum dwellers encroaching on government land. The scheme, named after Rajiv Gandhi, will benefit an estimated 4.5 lakh families, which would translate into 20 lakh solid votes in the urban areas. the registration papers being given to beneficiaries bear the photographs of Rajiv and Digvijay. The BJP is up in arms against the populist ploy and has complained to Governor Bhai Mahavir. In a memorandum submitted to Mahavir, BJP MLAs said, "It's a naked attempt by the Government to garner votes for the Congress." Mahavir had stalled the ordinance on the issue for almost a week before approving it following a threat by Congressmen to gherao the Raj Bhavan.

In a bid to win over the trading community, a long-standing BJP vote bank, the Government announced a series of measures in the last week of June, including an end to quota and permit and simplification of the licensing procedure. Henceforth, the provisions of the M.P. Commodities (Licensing and Restrictions on Hoarding Control) Order 1991 will be applicable only to big traders: manufacturers and small traders have been freed from its provisions. People have also been promised trading licence within 30 days of applying for them.

The Government's decision last week to create 23 new districts -- seven more than the number recommended by the District Reorganisation Commission -- is aimed at pleasing many at one stroke. Earlier the Government had announced district status to only 10 areas, but this triggered a statewide agitation. Arson, strikes and road blocks disrupted normal life for more than a week in towns denied district status. The Government responded quickly, raising the number to the current 68. The cost to the state exchequer: Rs 340 crore.

However, there's more to the whole issue than meets the eye. As district after district was engulfed by agitation, a curious pattern began to emerge: the agitation were led by the ruling Congress at almost all the places. Simultaneously, six Congress MLAs announced their resignation from the Assembly to protest against the denial of district status to their areas. However, they continue to be members of the Vidhan Sabha because, cleverly, they did not send their resignations to the Speaker. Congress sources say that it was the chief minister who had asked them to announce their resignations. Result: the party managed to checkmate the BJP on a crucial and emotive issue.

The Opposition may cry foul, but in an election year, the state Government couldn't have planned things better. With five months still to go for the polls and Digvijay in a mood to play Santa Claus, there are sure to be more goodies in the bag for the people of the state. But who's complaining?

Issue Contents | Write to us | Subscriptions | Syndication

© Living Media India Ltd