Every segment is upset with BJP: Ajit Jogi

New Delhi: Ahead of assembly elections in the state, founder of Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) party, Ajit Jogi has formed an alliance with the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) to take on three-time incumbent chief minister Dr Raman Singh of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Former Congressman, Jogi was the first chief minister of Chhattisgarh after the state was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000. Following the expulsion of his son, Amit, then Member of Legislative Assembly, over allegations of fixing an assembly by-election in the BJP’s favour, the seasoned politician left the Congress party in 2016 and launched his own party.

(However, his wife Renu, continued her association with the Congress and had been camping in Delhi, hoping for her re-nomination in the Kota assembly constituency in the coming polls. But having been denied the ticket, she wrote a letter to United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, saying she had been quiet even though her husband and son were “humiliated” and now she would contest the election from Kota (on JCCJ ticket) to “prove that truth can win.” The Jogis’ daughter-in-law Richa is a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate and has filed a nomination from Akaltara seat in Chhattisgarh).

Jogi met with a near fatal car accident in 2004 in Gariabandh, about 130km from the state capital Raipur. This left him paralysed from the waist down and ever since, he has been confined to wheelchair, but has remained politically active.

He speaks to Gulf News:

GULF NEWS: An alliance with the BSP and the CPI, and your earlier decision not to contest the elections, what has been your strategy?

AJIT JOGI: I had decided to contest against Dr Raman Singh from Rajnandgaon. However, the BSP-JCCJ-CPI coalition demanded that I do not confine myself to contesting elections from any particular seat and should rather focus on campaigning for all 90 seats in the state. Hence, the decision was taken not to contest. Then, people from Marwahi requested me to contest from their constituency, saying I need not campaign at all from there. Since I am a ‘worker’ of these people, I am contesting from Marwahi.

GN: The ‘mahagathbandhan’ or the grand alliance of opposition parties seems to wither away at least for now. Do you see your alliance carrying on till 2019 Lok Sabha elections?

AJ: It’s time there is an alliance of like-minded non-Congress and non-BJP parties and we would like to see this alliance come to power at the Centre. It has partly happened earlier under Morarji Desai (1977), Charan Singh (1979), Vishwanath Pratap Singh (1989), Chandrashekhar (1990), H D Deve Gowda (1996) and Inder Kumar Gujral (1997). However, on these occasions, Congress or BJP supported the governments from outside. But in 2019, we are hopeful that under the leadership of Mayawati, an alliance will form the government at the Centre, without the need for support from either the Congress or the BJP.

GN: Surveys and poll analysts have ruled out anti-incumbency factor against the Raman Singh government. What’s the ground report?

AJ: Most surveys are either manipulated or done taking into account just a very small sample size, which cannot be extrapolated to reflect the exact mindset of people. I call these ‘drawing room surveys’. The ground report is that people have seen 15 years of misrule of the BJP government and they want a change. People voted for the BJP, as they did not find an option in the Congress. But now, they have an alternative and will definitely vote for us.

GN: Why are people disgruntled with BJP?

AJ: Every segment is upset with BJP, including the business class, a strong supporter of the party. They are unhappy because of the government’s anti-business policies, especially demonetisation and poor implementation of GST, lack of control over administration and rampant corruption. With over three million unemployed youth in the state, jobs are being given to outsiders. Farmers are not given their promised minimum support price, which is forcing them to commit suicide. The power surplus state has become power deficit, but the state is selling power to other states. So, there’s no question of Raman Singh getting the fourth consecutive term.

GN: Who will take oath as CM if your coalition wins?

AJ: The coalition has unanimously declared that I am the face and the chief minister candidate.

GN: All the parties are accused of ‘caste politics’. Will you play the dalit and tribal card to garner votes since the state has a sizeable under-privileged population?

AJ: We do not believe in caste politics. The guiding principles of our party are ‘Chhattisgarh first’ and ‘welfare of all classes and respect for all religions’ for the overall development of Chhattisgarh.

GN: Money and muscle power do come in handy in swaying voters. But alcohol too is a bait to lure men. Your take?

AJ: Chhattisgarh has recorded the highest alcohol prevalence rate. It is a shame that the present government is involved in the business of selling liquor, but at the same time has closed schools in the name of rationalisation. I have given an affidavit to people of the state that sale of liquor will be prohibited on the very first day I take oath as chief minister. The only exception to this rule would be areas that produce liquor for self-consumption.

GN: Why is it that despite being given a raw deal by Congress, you never speak against the party as well as Sonia and Rahul Gandhi?

AJ: It was my decision to move out from Congress and I formed my own party, so that people of the state are not dependent on Delhi for their decisions. Before leaving the party, I met then Congress President Sonia Gandhi and clarified that there was no animosity between the Gandhi family and me. I have known Rahul since his childhood and would even drop him to school. I am sure he respects me at a personal level. So, the relation will always remain cordial.

GN: Regional parties have always played a pivotal role in state elections in the country vis-a-vis the national polls. Do you think it’s because they understand the dynamics of state well or it’s the ‘king maker’ paradigm that works in their favour?

AJ: While state elections are contested on local and state-based issues, national elections are contested on nationwide issues, which have a much larger perspective.

Regional parties understand state-related issues much better, hence, till now they have played a pivotal role in state elections. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were the only states in India that had no regional parties until now. But this election will change the scenario in Chhattisgarh.

I feel, even in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, only regional parties can stop the Modi government from coming to power again. In 2014, even at the time of the strong Modi-wave, regional parties stopped BJP from landslide victory in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Orissa. The results of Karnataka assembly elections and by-elections in Uttar Pradesh have proven the importance of regional parties yet again.

As regards the ‘king maker’ philosophy, our view is clear. We do not want to be called a king maker or king; the people of Chhattisgarh will be king.

• Ajit Jogi was born on April 29, 1946 in Bilaspur, Chhatisgarh.

• A gold medallist in mechanical engineering from Maulana Azad College of Technology, Bhopal, he studied law at University of Delhi.

• Served as district collector of Indore — 1981-85.

• Resigned as Indian Administrative Services officer and joined politics as member of All India Congress Committee — 1986.

• Member of Rajya Sabha for two terms — 1986-98.

• Won the Lok Sabha elections from Raigarh constituency — 1998.

• Chief minister of Chhattisgarh — 2000-03.

• Member of Parliament from Mahasamund — 2004-2008.

• Won the assembly elections from Marwahi — 2009-14.

• Lost the Lok Sabha elections from Mahasamund — 2014.