The Hindu : Will the old order hold sway?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 26, 2003

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Will the old order hold sway?

By V. Krishna Ananth

REWA Nov. 25. Belamod is an hour-long drive from Satna to the north along the National Highway 7. From there to Rampur Nakin (which falls in the Churhat Assembly constituency) is just a quarter of the distance. But the stretch, which falls under the State PWD, takes at least a couple of hours. The road is virtually non-existent.

The state of the roads is central to the BJP's campaign. But then the ruling Congress nominees in the Vindhya region consisting of Satna, Rewa and Sidhi districts in north-western Madhya Pradesh seem to be going strong.

Enter Rampur Nakin and only Congress flags are seen. Ajay Singh, Minister for Transport, in the Digvijay Singh Cabinet is contesting. The same is true of Mauganj in the Rewa district from where Srinivas Tiwari, Speaker of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly since 1993 is the Congress candidate.

Rahul bhaiya to his followers, Ajay Singh is either revered or dreaded in the region. His father, Arjun Singh, too reigned over this region for several years before he was defeated in Satna by the BSP in 1996 and again in 1998. Churhat, from where he is contesting had caught the nation's attention some years ago.

It was from here that fake lottery tickets were printed and circulated across the country. Arjun Singh represented this constituency. He was also the Chief Minister then.

Srinivas Tiwari, in his eighties, has already spread the word that his grandson will inherit his constituency — Mangawan — after a while. Mr. Tiwari's managers are confident that the bad road and erratic power supply to farms will not affect his prospects.

Mangawan is in the news already. The Election Commission, on scrutiny had found 22,000 entries in the electoral rolls in this constituency as bogus.

Several constituencies in the Vindhya region have been classified "sensitive" by the Commission. Years after monarchy was abolished, the erstwhile rulers and their sons insist on being treated like royalty. Both the Congress and the BJP have managed to enlist a number of the former rulers and vassals from the Rewa principality.

The socio-political changes in Uttar Pradesh in the last couple of decades are beginning to impact here too. The Vindhya region, with 28 Assembly constituencies, had gone the Congress way by and large in the past. In 1998, the party won 16 seats and the BJP just half the number.

It looks like that the Congress could end up losing some this time. Like in the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, the BSP has emerged as a force over the years. The party won two seats from here in the last elections and the BSP appears poised to retain them and also increase its vote share.

The Commission's proactive role in the past few weeks has made a difference. But then those keen on saving the old order — they are present in both the Congress and the BJP — will not, for obvious reasons, let it go.

This is what has led the Election Commission to declare most of the constituencies in this region as "sensitive". Officials at various levels, including those at the top, have been shifted out of their posts on the Commission's orders.

The outcome of the December 1 polls, hence, will depend on a "free and fair" election.

The quest for a change this time, palpable across the region, could mean some losses to the Congress.

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