By Express News Service
BHOPAL: Poll-bound Madhya Pradesh is set to see a flurry of political activity over the coming week as the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress vie for the crucial 21% tribal vote.
While the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government is said to host five mega Veerangana Rani Durgavati Gaurav Yatras from different tribal-dominated areas, the opposition Congress will organize mega an Adivasi Sammellan in tribal-dominated Mandla district on June 24.
June 24 marks the 459th anniversary of the Gondwana kingdom queen’s martyrdom, which was attained while fighting the forces of Mughal emperor Akbar.
The five yatras will be launched on Thursday, simultaneously from Balaghat, Kamal Nath’s pocket-borough Chhindwara, besides Damoh and Sidhi – all in MP – and Kalinjar Fort in adjoining Uttar Pradesh’s Banda district, which is the birth-place of the brave-heart queen.
One of these yatras will be launched by union home minister Amit Shah from the Maoists-affected Balaghat district, after which he is likely to have lunch at the house of a tribal family, as part of the saffron party government’s ongoing tribal outreach efforts.
The other four yatras will be launched by first-time Lok Sabha members DD Uike and Himadri Singh, first-time Rajya Sabha member Sumer Singh Solanki, former MP Sampatiya Uike, and state’s forest minister Kunwar Vijay Shah. All these leaders are tribal politicians.
All the five yatras will culminate on June 27 in Shahdol district, where a mega Rani Durgavati Balidan Diwas event will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi before he reportedly travels to a tribal village for lunch and interaction with tribals.
Just two days after the start of the BJP government’s five mega yatras, the Mandla district will host a mega Adivasi Sammellan of the opposition Congress, which will be addressed by state party chief Kamal Nath. The event will coincide with the 459th death anniversary of the brave queen.
Importantly, tribals constitute 21% of MP’s population and 47 out of the total 230 assembly seats are reserved for tribals. Out of these 47 seats, the ruling BJP had won 29 seats and the Congress 18 in the 2008 assembly polls. In 2013 polls, the saffron party emerged victorious on 31 seats, while the Congress won 16 seats.
In the 2018 polls, the story was reversed, as the Congress emerged triumphant on 31 seats, while the BJP had to be content with just 15 seats, and one seat was won by a Congress rebel.
The BJP government’s five mega yatras dedicated to Rani Durgavati will particularly traverse through tribal dominated parts of Vindhya region, which house 30 assembly seats, Mahakoshal region which has 38 seats and some parts of Bundelkhand region.
In the 2013 elections, the BJP had won 24 out of the 30 seats in Vindhya region, while the Congress was a distant second with just six seats. On the contrary, the Congress had won 24 out of the 38 seats in the Mahakoshal region, while the BJP had managed to win just 13 seats, followed by one seat to a Congress rebel.
BHOPAL: Poll-bound Madhya Pradesh is set to see a flurry of political activity over the coming week as the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress vie for the crucial 21% tribal vote.
While the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government is said to host five mega Veerangana Rani Durgavati Gaurav Yatras from different tribal-dominated areas, the opposition Congress will organize mega an Adivasi Sammellan in tribal-dominated Mandla district on June 24.
June 24 marks the 459th anniversary of the Gondwana kingdom queen’s martyrdom, which was attained while fighting the forces of Mughal emperor Akbar.
The five yatras will be launched on Thursday, simultaneously from Balaghat, Kamal Nath’s pocket-borough Chhindwara, besides Damoh and Sidhi – all in MP – and Kalinjar Fort in adjoining Uttar Pradesh’s Banda district, which is the birth-place of the brave-heart queen.
One of these yatras will be launched by union home minister Amit Shah from the Maoists-affected Balaghat district, after which he is likely to have lunch at the house of a tribal family, as part of the saffron party government’s ongoing tribal outreach efforts.
The other four yatras will be launched by first-time Lok Sabha members DD Uike and Himadri Singh, first-time Rajya Sabha member Sumer Singh Solanki, former MP Sampatiya Uike, and state’s forest minister Kunwar Vijay Shah. All these leaders are tribal politicians.
All the five yatras will culminate on June 27 in Shahdol district, where a mega Rani Durgavati Balidan Diwas event will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi before he reportedly travels to a tribal village for lunch and interaction with tribals.
Just two days after the start of the BJP government’s five mega yatras, the Mandla district will host a mega Adivasi Sammellan of the opposition Congress, which will be addressed by state party chief Kamal Nath. The event will coincide with the 459th death anniversary of the brave queen.
Importantly, tribals constitute 21% of MP’s population and 47 out of the total 230 assembly seats are reserved for tribals. Out of these 47 seats, the ruling BJP had won 29 seats and the Congress 18 in the 2008 assembly polls. In 2013 polls, the saffron party emerged victorious on 31 seats, while the Congress won 16 seats.
In the 2018 polls, the story was reversed, as the Congress emerged triumphant on 31 seats, while the BJP had to be content with just 15 seats, and one seat was won by a Congress rebel.
The BJP government’s five mega yatras dedicated to Rani Durgavati will particularly traverse through tribal dominated parts of Vindhya region, which house 30 assembly seats, Mahakoshal region which has 38 seats and some parts of Bundelkhand region.
In the 2013 elections, the BJP had won 24 out of the 30 seats in Vindhya region, while the Congress was a distant second with just six seats. On the contrary, the Congress had won 24 out of the 38 seats in the Mahakoshal region, while the BJP had managed to win just 13 seats, followed by one seat to a Congress rebel.
