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Tough battle ahead for pardesi Jogi in Shahdol

Sharad Dwivedi in Shahdol

Congress spokesman Ajit Jogi is pitted against popular socialist leader Dalpat Singh Paraste, a recent entrant to the Bharatiya Janata Party, in the tribal Shahdol parliamentary constituency of Madhya Pradesh.

Jogi won the last election from Raigarh (ST), while his BJP opponent Paraste has represented Shahdol twice earlier -- first as a Bharatiya Lok Dal candidate in 1977 and then as a Janata Dal nominee in 1989.

Both the BJP and Congress have changed their candidates this time. While the BJP has denied a ticket to two-time winner Gyan Singh to field Paraste, the Congress has replaced former Union minister Dalbir Singh, with Jogi.

Though attempts have been made to rehabilitate Dalbir Singh (he was first entrusted with the charge of Mandla constituency and was later asked to report to the state Congress head office in Bhopal), resentment is growing among his followers. Jogi is aware of this and has warned the high command of the possibility of cross-voting. However, he has so far detested from making any public statement against Dalbir Singh.

Jogi is not new to this constituency which is dominated by Gonds. He served as a collector of Shahdol district about two decades ago and people here remember him as a duty-bound officer.

Paraste on the other hand is a Gond and commands respect in the constituency as a committed social worker. However, he has been accused of not paying enough attention to the constituency during his earlier stints as an MP.

By and large, the electorate here seems to be happy that a national leader is contesting from their constituency. ''Jogi is a popular personality. People appreciate the works completed by him when he was the district collector,'' said a shop-keeper.

Shahdol voters, and even the contestants, admit there is no single issue significant enough to be decisive.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is the focus of the BJP's election campaign. Besides party workers, Paraste and member of the dissolved Lok Sabha, Gyan Singh, accepted that Vajpayee was the biggest issue in this election. On the other hand, the Congress believes that the issue of stability would ultimately overshadow all other issues.

The campaigning in this tribal constituency, which goes to the polls on September 18, is yet to peak. In fact, the far flung rural areas are still untouched by posters and banners of political parties.

Compared to the Congress, the BJP campaign seems to be more aggressive. ''Desh me videshi aur zile me pardesi nahin chalega,'' has become a favourite slogan at BJP's public gatherings. A local organisation has also circulated pamphlets announcing a reward to those who proved Jogi's identity as a tribal.

Jogi, however, is describing as a ''homecoming'' his shifting to Shahdol from Raigarh. ''I have family ties and close relations with the people of this area. That is why I have opted for Shahdol,'' he explains.

The Shahdol Lok Sabha constituency comprises six assembly segments of Shahdol district and two of neighbouring Umeria district.

Out of these, two -- Beohari and Kotma (ST) -- are represented by the BJP while the remaining six -- Anuppur (ST), Jaisingh Nagar (ST), Nowrozabad (ST), Pushparajgarh (ST), Sohagpur and Umeria -- are represented by the Congress.

In the last election, Beohari and Jaisingh Nagar were won by the Congress by slender margins of 573 and 934 votes respectively.

UNI

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