Confident that I will be Chhattisgarh CM... BJP, Cong don’t understand real issues, says Ajit Jogi

Elaborating on why he is confident about a victory, the former Chhattisgarh CM said there is anti-incumbency working against the BJP government and the Congress is in a disarray.

Ajit Jogi became Chhattisgarh’s first chief minister as a Congressman when the state was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000. This time, he has left the Congress and his new outfit, Janata Congress Chhattisgarh, is fighting the polls in alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party. He spoke to Kumar Uttam at his Raipur home about the prospects of his party, challenge from Chhattisgarh chief minister and his arch-rival Raman Singh. Excerpts:

Chhattisgarh has always seen a direct fight between the Congress and the BJP. How are you going to make a difference this time?

At the leadership level in both the parties, you will find people who are either outsiders or do not connect with the masses.

They do not understand the real issues that trouble indigenous people. I know that, and people have also realised that they need a local who can address their basic issues. I am hopeful.

Your party is contesting election for the first time. Where do you stand in this election?

I am confident that I will be the chief minister. We will win.

What makes you so confident about a victory?

There is anti-incumbency working against the BJP government. They have ruled Chhattisgarh for the last 15 years, but basic issues have not been addressed. The Congress is in a disarray. Their leaders are fighting with each other. We have a strong alliance with Bahujan Samaj Party of Mayawati. And, we have fielded strong candidates.

Why did you form an alliance with BSP in Chhattisgarh?

They have pockets of strong influence across the state. They won one seat, stood second on two others and polled about four and a half per cent vote.

They are a valuable partner for me. My party and the BSP have a common support base —the extremely backward classes and the Scheduled Castes. We will complement each other in the polls and spring a surprise on the Congress and the BJP.

But the Congress lost three elections when you were with them. Are you overestimating your strength?

I was in control in just one election — in 2003, when the BJP won for the first time. The reason for a defeat in that election was very different. I was the chief minister and got a call from then home minister LK Advani, with whom I had a good rapport. He said maoists have given a poll boycott call in Bastar and sought my help to ensure people come out and vote.

I was promised that there will be adequate security forces to help me. 30 helicopters were deployed. Forces moved into jungle. There was a spike in voting percentage, and it jumped from 30-35% to 70-75%. The forces rigged that election in the favour of the BJP.

We lost almost every seat in Bastar, and power in Chhattisgarh. I was kept out of the decision making in the next two elections. The Congress leadership did not listen to me.

What difference has your walking out of the party made to the Congress?

Congress has become faceless. There is no leader in the party who is known, or has influence in every quarter of the party. It is a divided house.

How do you rate Raman Singh as chief minister. What is his strength?

Raman Singh’s strength is that he has no strength. He has failed as chief minister of the state.