With the Congress winning just two of the 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh this May, just five months after the party swept the state election with 68 of 90 assembly seats, Chief Minister BHUPESH BAGHEL has a tough task ahead of him. From managing the state finances and working with a bureaucracy that bears his predecessor Raman Singh’s imprint to tackling Maoism and dealing with tribal protests against mining by the Adani Group. Known to be a fighter among Congress leaders in the state, a trait that endeared him to Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Baghel is ploughing on. Excerpts from an interview with Group Editorial Director (Publishing) Raj Chengappa and India Today (Hindi) Editor Anshuman Tiwari in Raipur:
Q. How do you explain the setback the Congress received in the parliamentary election after the unprecedented mandate it won in the assembly polls just a few months earlier?
A. We began fulfilling all the promises we made to farmers, tribals and common folk soon after the assembly election. In the BJP, on the other hand, infighting came to the fore after the election and the morale of the party cadre was low. The BJP was nowhere to be seen in the Lok Sabha campaign. Most political analysts gave the Congress 10 or 11 seats, but when the results came, they were unexpected. No one here (in Chhattisgarh) had imagined this. But the results are in front of you.
Q. What do you think were the reasons for your defeat?
A. The reasons being offered are beyond comprehension. If you say it was nationalism arising out of the surgical strikes, then why did the issue not have an impact in states where non-Congress parties were pitted against the BJP, such as Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu or even West Bengal where the BJP did everything they could but could not pull offa clean sweep? The issue is something else, about which we have not been able to say anything. And if that is the issue, it is extremely dangerous. If it is the EVM, then it is very dangerous for democracy.
Q. This is a very serious allegation you are making.
A. The voters don’t know what’s inside EVMs whereas a ballot box has all the details of voting within it. Even the educated don’t know the intricacies of the EVM, what to say of common people.
Q. Your critics are saying you did not deliver on your promises and the Lok Sabha verdict is a reflection on your government?
This story is from the July 08, 2019 edition of India Today.
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This story is from the July 08, 2019 edition of India Today.
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