Hectic lobbying for Chhattisgarh Chief Minister's post

By Our Staff Correspondent

BHOPAL, OCT. 19. It was unanimously decided at an all-party meeting held here today shortly before the Madhya Pradesh Assembly began its farewell session that the new Chhattisgarh State would be formed on November 1.

The Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. Digvijay Singh, had met the Union Home Minister, Mr. L.K. Advani, last Monday and sought postponement of the formation of Chhattisgarh by a few days in view of hurdles relating to bifurcation of all-India service cadres.

These hurdles notwithstanding, it was decided at the all-party meeting that the new Chhattisgarh State would be formed on November 1.

Meanwhile, Bhopal today witnessed hectic political activity with the Congress(I) MLAs belonging to the Chhattisgarh region lobbying for leaders being viewed as candidates for the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister's post.

The Congress(I) will be in a position to form the first government in Chhattisgarh given its slender majority of 48 MLAs in a House of 90. With barely a few days left for the formation of the new State, the Congress(I) leaders aspiring for power have been preoccupied with their see-saw battle to win the largest support base among the Congress(I) MLAs from the Chhattisgarh region. Prominent among those being projected are the Shukla Brothers - the former Chief Minister, Mr. S.C. Shukla and the former Union Minister, Mr. V.C. Shukla - besides the AICC spokesman, Mr. Ajit Jogi, the former Chief Minister and Uttar Pradesh Governor, Mr. Motilal Vora, and the former Union Minister, Mr. Arvind Netam. While these would be the front- runners, other names are also doing the rounds like Mr. Mahendra Karma, who represents the Dantewada Assembly seat, Mr. Premsai Singh from Sarguja, and Mr. Charandas Mahant, who is a member of the Lok Sabha from Janjgir.

Mr. S.C. Shukla, Mr. V.C. Shukla, Mr. Ajit Jogi and Mr. Arvind Netam were all active here today. The Shukla Brothers, it is being said in Congress circles here, could have together posed a formidable challenge to the others who are in the leadership race. But the equation would now be different since the two brothers have parted company and both are angling for the top post. Their present equation might just be the beginning of their problem and what is proving a bigger hurdle in the path of these two senior leaders, known for their ``upper caste Brahmin'' background, is the demand for a tribal Chief Minister in a State which would be predominantly tribal. Significantly, the Congress(I) will have 23 tribal MLAs out of a total strength of 48 MLAs in Chhattisgarh.

It is therefore not the least surprising that there is a growing demand for a tribal Chief Minister in the new State. A large group of tribal MLAs from Chhattisgarh belonging to the Congress(I) have even met the AICC president, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, to press their demand for a tribal Chief Minister. Many of them are strongly backing the candidature of the AICC spokesman, Mr Ajit Jogi.

When contacted, some of them supported the idea of having Mr. Jogi as the first Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, taking the plea that he is a senior parliamentarian who represents the tribals and has a popular base.

In contrast, many tribal MLAs here were trying to run down the leadership claim of Mr. Arvind Netam by citing his antecedents as ``a leader known for his close links with the Nationalist Congress Party leader Mr. P.A. Sangma'' and one who had earlier deserted the Congress and joined the Bahujan Samaj Party after his name was linked to the infamous Malikmaqbooja timber scandal in Bastar district at the time of the 1998 parliamentary elections. He had contested and lost that election from two different places.

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