hhattisgarh is seeing another round of face-off between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in less than five months. Going by the drubbing the Congress handed to the BJP in assembly polls last December, the task for Congress appears to be much easier, particularly under chief minister Bhupesh Baghel’s aggressive brand of leadership. Under Baghel, the Congress has remained in poll mode, keeping the narrative “Chhattisgarh badla, desh badlenege (Chhattisgarh has changed, will change the country)” intact with a slew of pro-farmer measures.
The Congress' landslide was fuelled by distress among farmers and tribals as well as urban voters’ disenchantment with the BJP government’s failure to create jobs. At least on the farmers’ front, Baghel has gone on overdrive in paddy procurement with the state buying more than 80 lakh tonnes this season. The measure has come after the Congress promise of an additional Rs 750 per quintal bonus to the Centre’s minimum support price of Rs 1,750 per quintal, which translates to Rs 2,500 per quintal.