MP Bypolls: Why Is Jhabua Crucial for Congress?

Bhopal: The Election Commission of India on Saturday, September 21, announced the bypoll date of Madhya Pradesh’s Jhabua Assembly seat which was vacated after BJP legislator GS Damor resigned in May 2019.

“The results will be declared on October 24, 2019. The last date of filing nomination of candidates is September 30,” the ECI official said while announcing the dates for Assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra in Delhi.

The Jhabua seat, which is reserved for Scheduled Tribe representative, was vacated after sitting Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Guman Singh Damor got elected to the Lok Sabha in 2019. He defeated former Union minister Kantilal Bhuria of Congress by 89,000 votes from the Ratlam- Jhabua constituency. Following this win, Damor had resigned

The tribal dominated Jhabua Assembly seat is very crucial for Congress. The ruling Congress has 114 MLAs in the 230 seat Assembly— two short of absolute majority.

With this one seat, the Congress government which is supported by two Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), one Samajwadi Party (SP) and four independent MLAs would reach one seat closer to the majority. The BJP, which had won 109 seats in the 2018 Assembly elections has 108 seats now, after Damor’s resignation.

Both Congress and BJP have been holding marathon meetings with Jhabua district leaders to chalk out a plan and announce the perfect candidate for the seat.

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BJP sounded the poll bugle with a party workers’ convention at the district Krishi Upaj Mandi in Jhabua town on September 5, 2019. Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Faggan Singh Kulaste, former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BJP state president Rakesh Singh addressed the meeting.

Sources within the BJP said that the party has already conducted meetings on booth management, while the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has alerted its frontal organisations in the tribal areas.

The Congress, too, has begun preparations. In the past two months, CM Kamal Nath has made at least half-a-dozen announcements of schemes targeting Jhabua and its tribal residents, from waiving off loans taken by tribals from non-licensed moneylenders, to announcements of development schemes worth Rs 30 crore and allocation of funds for startups by self-help groups (SHGs) in Jhabua and Alirajpur districts. He has also announced to give 50 kg rice or wheat on the birth of child and100 kg of grains at the time of any death in a family. He has resolved to take steps for the protection of tribal shrines and their restoration, in addition to preserving the stories of tribal cultural icons.

A day before the announcement of poll date, Chief minister Kamal Nath held one-on-one meetings with Jhabua district Congress president Nirmal Mehta and working presidents Hemchand Damor and Roop Singh Damor.

This was followed by a marathon meeting of state Congress office-bearers, ministers and party leaders —many of who have been given specific responsibilities for the by-poll.

Looking for winning candidate

Congress has been debating whether to field five-time MP Kantilal Bhuria, who lost Ratlam Lok Sabha election against GS Damor, or to field former MLA Xavier Meda, who openly rebelled and was expelled from the party during the November Assembly elections. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Kantilal Bhuria said, “Party will take a decision on who will be fielded for the Jhabua bypoll.”

According to sources, Bhuria is keen on contesting the Assembly by-poll from Jhabua, but his party unsure. In the Assembly elections last year, the party had fielded Kantilal Bhuria’s son Dr Vikrant Bhuria after denying the ticket to Meda, who had contested as an independent. Meda secured 35,943 votes as independent, while BJP’s Damor defeated Dr Vikrant by 10,337 votes. Following this debacle, the Congress has become cautious of the infighting costing the seat. Meda was brought back to the Congress fold before the Lok Sabha elections.

In the 2008 Assembly elections, Meda had defeated BJP’s Pavesingh Kalsingh Pargi by a margin of over 19,000 votes. However, in 2013, BJP’s Shantilal Bilawal defeated Meda. On the other hand, within the BJP, newly elected MP Damor will have a major role in both canvassing for the party as well as in the selection of a suitable candidate.

Also read: Massive Surge in Voter Turnout in 10 Reserved Seats of MP May Benefit Congress, Say experts

The BJP is likely to wait for Congress to decide its candidate before declaring their own. The saffron party is hoping that the infighting in Congress might give it a better chance to win again. If Meda is denied a ticket by the Congress, then the BJP might even aim to field someone from his family, sources said. However, the more likely candidate is ex-MLA Shantilal Bilawal who had defeated Meda in 2013 by about 15,500 votes, sources mentioned.

Recently, the Jai Adivasi Yuva Sangathan (JAYS) leader Hiralal Alawa had threatened to field an independent candidate for the bypolls if Congress did not meet their demands. However, the issue was resolved following a meeting with CM Kamal Nath.

Madhya Pradesh has a total tribal population of 80.67 lakh, which comprises of nearly 22% the state's total population. In the 2018 Assembly elections, the Congress won 28 out of 47 ST reserved seats in the 230 member state Assembly, up from 15 in 2013.