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Rebels may hold the key in Bundelkhand

By Vinay Kumar

CHHATARPUR, (M.P.), NOV. 25. As the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party brace themselves for the final round of campaigning for the December 1 Assembly polls, the Bundelkhand region is posing a peculiar problem. The number of rebel candidates is nearly one-third of the 24 seats on offer.

Upset at being denied nominations by their parent parties, many local leaders have opted for those giving them the ticket. Rebel candidates have sprouted in Banda, Sagar, Deori, Jatara, Khargapur, Tikamgarh, Bijawar and Chhatarpur. Of these, two are from the BJP and six from the Congress. Bundelkhand-watchers and veterans, however, dismiss it as being usual during elections.

It makes little difference if the desertions are from the "party with a difference" or from the one which claims to have mastered the art of governance. Many rebels are expected to enter into "secret pacts" with major political parties as polling day approaches.

In such a scenario, one can find an aspirant crossing from the Congress to the Samajwadi Party and from the BJP to the Bahujan Samaj Party or even contesting as an independent. And in an era of coalition politics where each MLA counts, they may prove to be the make or break factor in the absence of a clear-cut verdict.

Campaigning has been concentrated in the rural belt and among the bigwigs who have addressed election meetings are Uma Bharti, Pramod Mahajan and Sushma Swaraj of the BJP, Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Mayawati of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi. Ms. Gandhi and Ms. Bharti addressed meetings in Sagar district on Sunday.

With the leaders criss-crossing the State in helicopters, the roar of the machines has been heard in many areas where the people still look forward to train services.

While the Congress campaign has centred on maintaining communal harmony at all times, alleging corruption in the BJP, promising regular power supply and jobs; the BJP has attacked the ruling Congress regime for its failure to provide roads and a responsive administration and for the lack of development.

The SP and the BSP, who are fielding 161 and 157 candidates respectively, are just trying to make their presence felt. The SP candidate in Chhatarpur, Kunwar Vikram Singh, says he will sit in the Opposition benches even if he wins. "The SP is just entering the political stage here. I do not have big plans but I promise that the people will be free from fear and harassment which they have been facing in the Congress regime," the scion of the Chhatarpur royal family says.

The Congress Government's move to usher in Panchayati Raj has ironically created rifts in the villages with people siding one party or the other as each village council has tasted money and power.

In several families there have been sharp divisions as each member wants to wield power — a hard truth and a harder reality of money and power going to the head.

While other leaders have sounded serious, Mr. Mahajan has stuck to his witty style. Addressing a meeting in the "Surkhi" segment, he proposed to rename it "Sukhi" (drought-prone), and referring to electric shocks, he said people got them not from power cables but from inflated bills.

As far as the Dalit and OBC votes are concerned, political observers say, they stand polarised. While the BJP has been focussing on the OBCs, the Congress hopes to pull through with the help of the Dalits and just enough of OBC votes.

The BSP, which could have proved crucial in this scenario, had hoped to cash in on the popularity of the State unit president, Phool Singh Barraiya, but he broke away and formed a separate `Samanta Dal".

Of a total of 24 seats the BJP hopes to increase its tally of 15 seats to 20 while the prospect of losing its six seats seems to be staring the Congress in the face.

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