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MONTHS after he was removed as Chhattisgarh Congress chief, Mohan Markam is looking at a stiff contest in Kondagaon (ST-reserved), as much due to differences with other party leaders as for the tribal anger that has turned against the state government.
Made Minister for School Education, Development of SCs, Scheduled Tribes STs, OBCs and minorities when he was divested of the PCC chief’s post, Markam, 56, is facing stiff competition from former BJP minister Lata Usendi from Kondagaon, which falls in the Bastar region and will vote on November 7. While Markam had defeated Usendi in 2018, it had been by a margin of only 1,796 votes. In third place were NOTA votes.
Speculation had been rife that Markam’s removal as Congress state president in July was owing to differences with Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. Markam had taken over as PCC chief from Baghel in 2019. However, the official reason the Congress gave was the end of Markam’s term.
Usendi, 49, is a two-time MLA, whose father was also a BJP legislator. She had defeated Markam in 2008, before losing to him in 2013 and 2018. This is hence their fourth contest against each other.
While like last time, there are several candidates in the fray, queering the pitch for Markam, the bigger trouble he faces is because of two factors — of them the biggest is a possible loss of tribal vote in an area where over 60% of the voters are STs.
Christian tribals have faced several incidents of violence, allegedly at the hands of their Hindu counterparts, in recent years, and have come together with tribals who do not identify with any established religion and accuse the government of failing to protect them.
Kondagaon
The Sarva Adi Dal, a party formed by these tribal groups, has put up former Congress worker Gyan Prakash Korram as their candidate from the seat. “Based on data from churches, we believe 17,000 Christian tribals in around 20 villages in Kondagaon have faced trouble. The BJP is responsible for the violence but the Congress government has failed to do justice. Our cries fell on deaf ears. Our houses were destroyed, they did not let us bury our loved ones, and even forcibly exhumed their bodies. We were socially boycotted, but still the police did not register our FIRs,” says Korram.
He admits that the party is expected to hit the Congress, but adds: “We founded this party as we were pushed to a corner… For us, it is not about winning. It’s a show of strength, and about sending a message to any party that comes to power that they cannot ignore us.”
The tribal vote could be further fractured because of the presence of two more tribal candidates — one belonging to the Janta Congress Chhattisgarh-Jogi, and Budhsingh Netam, an Independent. The nomination of the candidate of another new tribal party, Hamar Raj, was rejected by the Election Commission (EC).
Apart from tribal anger, Markam is expected to face resistance from within, with talk that a senior Congress leader with whom he has an old dispute is discretely campaigning against him. Markam says he is not worried. “People are smart. They vote for whoever they want to… I know the local issues and have defeated Usendi twice while the state was under BJP rule. In Kondagaon, we have done Rs 1,000 crore worth development work, including building roads, bridges, college and school buildings. The BJP couldn’t do in 15 years what we achieved in five years.”
On the tribal vote, Markam says they “won’t split”. “People will think about the country and who works for society.”
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While the lack of job opportunities is another issue, Markam says it is the BJP to blame. Locals were getting jobs when the Congress was in power between 1996 and 2003, he says. “The BJP changed the rule after 2003, The issue is now pending in court.”
Usendi is equally confident. “Markam has failed to keep his promises. There is no road in a village in his own backyard. People are angry as he hasn’t done any development work. They have laid foundation stones but not completed works. Our campaign issues are development, corruption and unemployment,” she says, while lastly bringing up the other hot-button issue of religious conversion.
Usendi hastens to add that the issue is “not big”, which seems a recalibration by the BJP based on the tribal votes it is eyeing. The party has consistently attacked the Congress government over “rise in conversions”. This is the one rare time when she and Markam are in agreement.
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