5-state elections: In Chhattisgarh, BJP promises mega sops to counter Congress guarantees

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, November 3

Four days to go for the first phase of the Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, the BJP on Friday unveiled mega sops for farmers, women, tribals and youth of the state, pledging to give much more than the ruling Congress if voted to power.

Among the top promises Union Home Minister Amit Shah made today were 21 quintal per acre paddy procurement at Rs 3,100 MSP, Rs 12,000 per annum to married woman, 18 lakh houses for the poor, Rs 5,500 per sack bonus on tendu leaves, Rs 1.5 lakh for a newborn BPL girl child, cooking gas cylinder for Rs 500 and Rs 10,000 annual support to landless farm labourers. It was also announced that one lakh govt vacancies would to be cleared in first Cabinet meeting.

Each BJP promise seeks to counter a guarantee the Congress has made in the run-up to the polls. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel earlier announced farm loan waiver if re-elected, 20 quintal per acre paddy procurement at Rs 3,600 MSP (against Rs 2,183/quintal central MSP at present), 17.5 lakh houses for the poor, KG to PG free education and 200 free power units.

Facing a tough phase 1 in which 20 Left-wing extremism-affected seats will go to the polls (Congress holds 19 of these with the exception of Rajnandgaon, which former CM Raman Singh of the BJP holds), Shah also played the Hindutva card today.

“We will launch Ram Lalla Darshan scheme for free travel of Chhattisgarh people to the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22. Chhattisgarh is the maternal home of Lord Ram. Everyone should get to attend the ceremony,” Shah said, adding the party would develop a 1,000-km “Five Shakti Peeth” circuit in the state on the lines of Char Dham.

In a shift from the past, the BJP manifesto skipped the mention of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) today. The party had promised UCC in UP, Uttarakhand and Gujarat (where it won) and also in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, where it lost the polls to the Congress.

The Chhattisgarh poll manifesto of the BJP even promises monthly transport allowance for college students in the form of direct benefit transfer.

The Rani Durgavati scheme, pledging Rs 1.5 lakh to girl children of poor families, and the Mahatri Vandan scheme to provide Rs 12,000 cash to every married woman every year are major sops meant to woo women.

BJP’s anti-corruption plank is reflected in the document by the promise of an anti-graft cell in the CMO and a pledge to probe the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission recruitment scam — an issue the BJP has used against CM Baghel.

Expanded Ayushman health cover (Rs 10 lakh a year instead of Rs 5 lakh available centrally), two goats for each tribal household, 100 hostels and free coaching for ST students across major cities, residential facilities for OBC students in each block, and breakfast along with school midday meals are other BJP manifesto hallmarks.

Shah said the party had drafted plans for block and district level.

Rs 12K per annum to married women

• 21 quintal per acre paddy purchase at Rs 3,100 MSP against Cong’s 20 quintal
• 18 lakh houses for poor against Cong’s 17.5 lakh
• Rs 5,500 annual bonus for tendu leaf collectors against Cong’s Rs 4,000
• 50% subsidy/interest free loan to youth entrepreneurs
• Rs 12,000 per annum to married women; Rs 1.50L to newborn BPL girl child
• Rs 10,000 per annum to landless farm workers
• 1 lakh government vacancies to be cleared in first cabinet meeting

Special sops for Bastar

• Award in the name of Bastar king Pravid Chandra Bhanjdev
• Ethanol processing plant for Kondagaon. World-class museum for Jagdalpur
• Divine city status for Dantewada, which is home to Mata Danteshwari Mandir, one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in the world

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