Shivraj Singh Chouhan scores on populism, not development'

The sense of claustrophobia associated with small towns is palpable in the towns of Shivpuri (103 km from Gwalior), Guna (202) and Raghogarh (232). Guna is the Lok Sabha constituency represented by the state’s Congress face Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Shivpuri is part of Guna parliamentary seat. The area from Gwalior to Guna is considered Scindias’ political fiefdom.

Raghogarh is Congress leader Digvijay Singh’s little kingdom. But the Congress has lost its foothold here, and the BJP remains the dominant party. Digvijay’s son Jayavadrhan Singh is contesting from Raghogarh. Jyotiraditya’s aunt and BJP’s sitting MP Yashodhara Raje Scindia is contesting from Shivpuri.

A group of young lawyers willingly chat about elections, politicians, and whether there has been development in Guna as they stand in a group in the district court compound on Wednesday afternoon. “The BJP will win the Guna seat, and the Congress will win in Raghogarh,” says one of them. “Do not be too sure. People have become alert and the BJP’s winning margin could be less and its victory cannot be taken for granted,” says another. They say that they cannot say what will be the outcome in Shivpuri because it is beyond their political radar.

They say chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is popular but this has not translated into development in Guna, and that they do not think Chauhan will make things happen if he wins another term. According to them, there is more corruption than development under the BJP.  They think that Scindia will change things if he can become the chief minister because he has a clean image, and he is the kind of man who will do what he says.

The lawyers deny in unison, despite their political differences, that the Chauhan regime has not delivered on promises. Their main anxiety is about education. They say government schools are dysfunctional, the mid-day meal scheme is a farce, and there are no teachers as nothing has been done to fill the vacancies. Teachers in government schools are paid a pittance. They were being paid Rs 3,000 a month, and it has now been increased to Rs 5,000. In states like Bihar, government school teachers get Rs 30,000.

Private schools are expensive, they say. “The privatisation of education has made education inaccessible,” moaned a shopkeeper in Shivpuri. Posh and spacious private schools dot the Gwalior-Shivpuri road.

Said a shopkeeper in Guna: “Shivraj Singh is any day better than the Congress.” What is the reason for his popularity? He gives money for the marriage of daughters. He gives Rs 1.5 lakh loan to build homes in the villages, and this is just a phone call away. People use half of it for building the house and pocket the rest of the amount. He smiles cynically when asked about the sustainability of the scheme and says, “He will do as long as he can, and it will sustain his popularity.” There is the tacit acknowledgment that Chouhan stands for populism and not development, and that his populism gives him the electoral edge.