Few constituencies in Central India have electoral battles as interesting as it is in Jabalpur. And few are as demographically diverse. The huge electorate has serving and retired defence personnel, a sizable Adivasi population and a large working class.
Indications are that a tough fight is shaping up between BJP’s incumbent two-time MP Rakesh Singh and Congress’ Vivek Tankha, a former Additional Solicitor-General. The BJP has held the seat since 1996, and Mr. Singh is one of the seven sitting MPs of the BJP to be re-nominated. The party has 16 MPs from the State.
The Congress holds only two of the eight Assembly segments making up the constituency. The nomination of Mr. Tankha, who was only recently formally inducted into the party, has surprisingly put the BJP on the back foot. A known philanthropist and son-in-law of former State Finance Minister Ajay Mushran, Mr. Tankha has the distinction of having been the lawyer of many leaders across the political spectrum in the State.
Unlike many other Congress campaign offices in the State, the party’s hub here at Mr. Tankha’s residence is abuzz with activity even at 1 a.m. In these early hours, councillors and trade union leaders linked to the BJP come to pledge their support and discuss strategy.
A Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh worker says much as they respect Mr. Singh, they support Mr. Tankha. “He does many things that government should do — such as sponsoring children for medical treatment. Rakesh ji may still win because our organisation is strong unlike theirs. But the truth is that everyone here is angry with land-grabbing and the neglect of our city. We have just come to tell Vivek ji that he need not worry that we will oppose him,” he says on condition of anonymity.
“I became the face of the movement for development, led by the chambers of commerce a few months ago. No new jobs have been created here in the past 10 years. The daily Amravati Express to Nagpur is filled with patients because of the lack of medical facilities here ... If the agenda is [BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra] Modi, then I can’t win. But if the agenda is development, then Modi can’t stop me from winning,” Mr. Tankha says.
Neither party has announced any major promises, although Mr. Tankha has sworn to get a broad-gauge link to Nagpur. “If we win here, then the party organisation in the entire Mahakoshal region, where I have been involved for years with charities, will be revived,” he says.
Sushant Raikwar, manager in a prominent city hotel and long-time resident, says, “We are now a city of senior citizens. The youngsters have all left. Nationally, people want Modi. But here, educated youngsters aren’t satisfied with the state of the place. Tankha is a man who can get things done with his contacts in Delhi and Bhopal.”
Mr. Singh, a known timber trader, calls the shots in rural areas where the BJP reigns supreme in agrarian politics and caste equations. Mr. Singh was busy campaigning when contacted and had not responded to a questionnaire sent by this correspondent when this report was filed. A low-profile leader who rose from the ranks of the party, Mr. Singh is keeping the campaign focussed on Mr. Modi. A BJP government at the Centre and in the State, he says, can solve the city’s problems and bring jobs, in addition to increasing production and employment in the railways and ordnance sectors, the mainstay of the region’s economy.
Kamlesh Mishra, a chauffer who has agricultural land outside the city, says that though Mr. Tankha shows promise, farmers will never betray the BJP.
