The Hindu : Royal families hold the key here

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Monday, Nov 24, 2003

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Royal families hold the key here

By Aarti Dhar

AMBIKAPUR NOV. 23. The royal families have always influenced the outcome of elections in several regions of the undivided Madhya Pradesh, particularly the Chhattisgarh segment. And the trend is likely to continue or, perhaps, be more evident this time as Chhattisgarh goes to the polls for the first time as a separate State. Fifty years down the line, democracy seems to have little meaning for the voters and it is the royal `diktat' that works.

The influence will be felt more in the much-talked-about districts of Surguja, Jashpur and Raigarh besides Koriya, Dongargaon, Khairagarh, Kawardha and some assembly segments in Mahasamund. While the royalties themselves are contesting in many of these constituencies, where members of the royal families cannot contest due to reservation, their chosen ones have always been given the tickets.

Beginning with Jashpur — the erstwhile principality of the now controversial former Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Dilip Singh Judev — the four assembly seats have traditionally been Bharatiya Janata Party strongholds despite a massive tribal and scheduled caste population and the `anti-conversion' movement being initiated from here.

In the 1998 elections, the BJP won three of the four seats with Pathalgaon falling into the Congress kitty and Vikram Bhagat of the BJP later joining the Congress. This time, the voters have decided to ``drive Mr. Bhagat out of Jashpur'' and Pathalgaon could also go the BJP way under the "pro-Judev wave". All seats in this district are reserved and hence members of the Judev family cannot contest, though the candidates are decided with the approval of the palace.

The case is no different in the Surguja district where, again, seven of the eight seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes. At present, two are with the BJP, one independent who supports the Congress and the rest also with the Congress. The royal Singh Deo family here has traditionally supported the Congress. The erstwhile `king', M.S. Singh Deo, was the Chief Secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Government and his wife, Devendra Kumari, was a minister.

That the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Arjun Singh, addressed Mr. Singh Deo as `maharaj ji' is an open secret and he would always visit the Chief Secretary's chamber instead of summoning him to his room because Mr. Singh Deo belonged to a bigger principality than Mr. Singh.

After the death of M.S. Singh Deo, it is now his son, T.S. Singh Deo or `Baba Sahib', as he is fondly known, who would hold the key this time though even Congress supporters believe that his attempts this time are `half-hearted' because he had been sidelined by the Chief Minister, Ajit Jogi, and was made the chairperson of the State Finance Commission a few months ago, apparently with an eye on the elections.

But, the damage seems to be already done as the Congress workers have somewhat distanced themselves from the palace, which at one time was the final authority in the district.

The people would go to the Collector's office after getting their documents stamped from the palace, old-timers recall. It was not long ago that the people of Surguja were not allowed to construct double-storeyed houses because the palace had only two storeys. Until 1998, it was the palace that chose the candidate but this time Mr. Jogi had the final word.

The neighbouring Koriya district has been the State Finance Minister, Ramchander Singh Deo's domain for decades now. It is again his `diktat' that influences the voters. He is the Congress candidate this time also and his victory is assured.

Then comes the Raigarh family, which too has supported the Congress. Since not all the six seats are reserved, the family members themselves have been the contenders. However, the former Lok Sabha MP, Surender Pratap Singh, last week joined the Bharatiya Janata Party along with his son, Devendra Pratap Singh, since they were denied ticket by the Congress. Earlier, the Sarangarh royal family also extended its support to the BJP. This development could somewhat turn the voting pattern in favour of the BJP though the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Nationalist Congress Party also have some support here.

The present incumbent of the Raigarh Assembly seat and the State Health Minister, Krishna Kumar Gupta, who is contesting for the sixth time, has lost some popularity. The `queen' of Dongargaon (ST reserved) and the State Social Welfare Minister, Geeta Devi Singh, is once again assured of her victory. For the `princes' of Khairagarh and Kawardha — Debabrata Singh and Yogeshwar Raj Singh — there is virtually no contest. The two families have been contesting for two generations now, with constituencies being handed over to the `heirs'.

The `uncle-nephew' team of the former Saraipalli estate, Mahendra Bahadur Singh and Devendra Bahadur Singh, are safe in their respective Basna and Saraipalli seats. Mahendra Bahadur Singh wields clout in Rajim too since he is the heir to his maternal grandfather's Fingeshar estate.

In contrast, the royal families of Bastar and Kanker have distanced themselves from politics.

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Royal families hold the key here