Govt’s OBC politics cost Congress Brahmin leaders dear

RAIPUR: In a first for the Congress, none of its eight Brahmin candidates could secure a seat in the state assembly, while among the BJP’s seven Brahmin candidates, five registered victory in their respective constituencies. This loss for the Congress party was attributed by the party insiders to the Bhupesh Baghel government’s assertive OBC politics.

It is also for the first time that the assembly will not have any member from the minority representing Congress in the House, against BJP’s lone Christian candidate, who was elected to the assembly.

In the 2023 assembly elections, the Congress fielded eight candidates from the Brahmin community. Pankaj Sharma, replaced his father Congress veteran and sitting MLA Satyanarayan Sharma to contest from Raipur Rural constituency while Vikas Upadhyay contested on Raipur West seat; Mahant Ramasundar Das from Raipur South; Amitesh Shukla on Rajim; Arun Vora from Durg City; Ravindra Chaubey from Saja in Bemetara district; Shailesh Pandey from Bilaspur, and Shailesh Nitin Trivedi from Baloda Bazar-Bhatapara. None of them could make it to the assembly.

On the other hand, the BJP fielded seven Brahmin candidates — Chhattisgarhi film star Anuj Sharma from Dharsiwa in Raipur district; Sushant Shukla from Beltara; Purandar Mishra from Raipur North; Shivratna Sharma from Bhatapara, former minister Prem Prakash Pandey from Bhilai Nagar, Bhavna Bohra from Pandariya and Vijay Sharma from Kawardha in the assembly elections.

Among them, Anuj Sharma, Sushant Shukla, Purandar Mishra, Bhavna Bohra and Vijay Sharma were elected to the assembly while senior leaders — Prem Prakash Pandey and Shivratan Sharma — lost.

In the 90-member legislative assembly, 39 seats were reserved — 29 for Scheduled Tribes and 10 for Scheduled Castes and remaining 51 were general seats. Constituting 47% of the state’s population, the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) possessed significance in the polls, resulting in election of 35 MLAs in this category from both the parties.

Among the candidates, belonging to the minorities, former minister and senior leader Mohammad Akbar, who had won the 2018 election with a record margin, lost to BJP’s Vijay Sharma from Kawardha constituency. He was the lone Muslim candidate fielded by the Congress.

A Christian candidate Prabodh Minj, a former mayor who contested the assembly polls from Lundra on a BJP ticket, made it to the assembly with an impressive margin of 24,128 votes. However, sitting Congress Legislator U D Minj could not retain his Kunkuri (ST) seat as he was defeated by a tribal veteran and former Union minister Vishnu Deo Sai with a margin of 25,541 votes.

There is a growing perception within the state Congress that Bhupesh Baghel government’s aggressive OBC politics, which mainly revolved around a sub-caste, and the grand old party’s overemphasis on caste census for the benefit of OBCs might have adversely affected the party, leading to the defeat of many candidates.

In the state’s first elections in 2003, there were five Congress MLAs from Brahmin community. However, in 2008, their representation decreased to four, further reducing to just one MLA in 2013. The outgoing assembly comprised six MLAs from the community.