Guna (Madhya Pradesh): No formidable national leader, hollow and unfulfilled promises, a corrupt past and little interest or faith in its main election promise, NYAY. These may seem like criticisms of the Congress by voters in a region where the party is vulnerable, but they emanate from one of its bastions, and in a state it won very recently.
The Guna Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh, with a little over 16 lakh voters and covering whole or parts of three districts, is one of two seats the Congress managed to win out of the state’s 29 in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
This is a Congress stronghold, a seat the party has not lost in the last two decades and one that its leader Jyotiraditya Scindia has represented since 2002. It lies in a state the Congress managed to wrest from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the assembly polls end of 2018. And yet, Guna serves as the perfect example of all that voters believe is wrong with the Congress party.
The irony in Guna is that while Scindia continues to be very popular and most constituents say they want him as their MP again, they do not want a Congress government at the Centre.
It is equally strange that NYAY — the minimum income guarantee scheme the Congress has promised to implement if voted to power, and which it considers its trump card this election — has almost zero resonance in Guna.
To be sure, Guna is more of a Scindia family bastion — represented by generations of the family cutting across party affiliations — but that the Congress has held this seat for 20 years should have been enough for it to make its own inroads here.
It perhaps, thus, serves as an apt sample for the Congress to introspect upon where it has gone wrong and draw lessons from.
Also read: After roadshow & marathon meetings, Priyanka-Scindia no-show has UP Congress worried
The contradiction
For voters in Guna, Jyotiraditya Scindia, who won by a margin of around 1.2 lakh votes in 2014, is the immediate elected representative they want. But for most, it is Narendra Modi they want to see back as prime minister.
The reasons for disillusionment with the Congress are many — its track record, “lack of a credible national leadership”, and what voters see as its “inability to fulfil promises”. PM Modi’s popularity, his “ability to protect the country”, and his schemes, particularly in rural areas, seem to have drawn an even sharper contrast in the voters’ minds.
The dislike for the Congress seems to cut across age and the rural-urban divide to a significant extent.
“Scindia ji has done a lot for us. We will support him always,” said septuagenarian Ram Swaroop of Gureya village.
“But as PM, we want Modi, the Congress has done nothing in the past. They have no leader at the Centre we can look up to,” he added. “They make promises and never keep them, while Modi has given us many things like houses and gas cylinders, besides protecting the country.”
Swaroop’s sentiment was echoed by his companions surrounding him, all of whom praised Scindia, but did not wish to see a Congress government at the Centre.
Rajesh Lodhi, a farmer from Rusalla Khurd village, said “its record of corruption” did not make voters feel confident about the Congress and what it would do for the common man. Other farmers gathered around him nodded.
Leadership crisis
The leadership question looms large. Most voters say they don’t see Congress president Rahul Gandhi as an able leader and, so, do not view the party’s prospects at the Centre as being very bright.
Many go to the extent of saying that they wish to see Scindia leading the party at the national level. Were that to be the case, they add, they would want a Congress government.
“Rahul Gandhi is hardly a leader one wants. If Jyotiraditya Scindia was to lead the party, then the contest for Modi would be tough,” said Bitty Yadav of Guna town. “We will then want a Congress government at the Centre as well.”
There is also disappointment with the Congress for not making Scindia the chief minister after its December win but choosing Kamal Nath, a leader with a grip over the Mahakoshal region, instead.
The leadership ‘crisis’ of the Congress has been a much talked-about issue and is clearly something that plays out on the ground as well. Allowing popular state leaders, particularly the younger guard, to take centrestage is a possible way out for the party, and the wins in the recent assembly polls in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, led by local leaders, only further reinforce this.
Also read: Remembering Madhavrao Scindia, Prince Charming who could have become PM
Unfilled promises
In the voters’ mind, the narrative of the Congress not living up to its promises has only been further strengthened after its win in the state polls.
They believe the promised loan waiver covering around 35 lakh farmers has remained just lip service.
Anger about not having their loans waived yet is spreading fast among farmers.
“We have always been told by our elders that the Congress only promises but does not give,” said Rajpal Baghel of Nohar village who voted for the first time in the 2018 state polls.
“And yet, we voted for them in the state polls because they said they will waive our loans. Nothing has happened on that front. Kisaan ab naaraaz hai, sab bikhar gaye hai Congress se (farmers are angry with the Congress),” he added.
Several voters feel the Congress ruled for decades and has been “given enough chances to deliver”.
The NYAY factor
It was in end-March, just about a fortnight before the Lok Sabha polls were to begin, that the Congress announced its minimum income guarantee scheme — NYAY — or the Nyuntam Aay Yojana.
The party believes that could be its big game-changer this election, and could help attract voters. However, perhaps, because of how late and close to the polls the announcement came, or the baggage of the party’s record, NYAY has near-zero resonance even in Guna. What adds to this, of course, is the issue of the pending farm loan waiver.
For several voters, the proposed NYAY scheme does not ring a bell at all. Oddly, while many are aware of the Congress poll slogan “ab NYAY hoga (now justice will be done)” because of television, social media and other publicity, they seem to think “nyay”, or justice, is merely being used as a catchword.
“On TV, I keep hearing ‘ab NYAY hoga‘ from the Congress, but I don’t know about NYAY as a scheme or promise,” said Ram Swaroop.
He wasn’t alone. Several voters drew a complete blank when asked about NYAY or even when the details of it were explained. But more tellingly, even those who had heard of it did not seem to either buy into it, or believe it was feasible to implement.
Guna will vote in the sixth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha election on 12 May.
Also read: Why BJP’s startup push is better for Indians looking for jobs than Congress’ Nyay
Nope this article is biased and has no credible data pointers. How are you publishing articles without credibility? Credibility comes with evidence, with data and with proof. The article is so contradictory at all levels, it is a shame it found its way on the website.
Is Print pleasing Modi? I am disappointed. let me tell you, I am keeping an eye on the articles and if they turn out to be like the aforementioned, then I will pull plugs from Print. I don’t want to waste time on a pro govt website, I’d rather watch DD news. If you can speak the truth, this means nothing. No evidence, zero credibility.
This is proof that BJP, calls for Hindus to unite but divides them on caste lines. They created riots in Haryana and Jats lost 49 lives. Khatter supported the Punjabi lobby to file frivolous case in high court alleging that tourists were raped near Murthal sonipat dhabas. Highcourt and police found no truth. Still the “anil vij” and “BJP MP Saini” continued to hate the Jats and created hatred but khatter did not stop them. Try this Jat versus non Jat in Rajasthan, or Punjab than bloo Dy BJP wud know the cost of spreading hatred communal and destroying lives. BJP had engineered the Mujafarnagar Jat Muslim riots and benefitted. BJP is anti farmer, pro trader. BJP was known as Jan संघ and hv tons of hatred… God will punish anybody including BJP for spreading and fanning communal hatred and killing innocent people everywhere including the genocide in Gujrat. Congress killed Sikhs in 1984 communal genocide of more than 10,00,0/sikh family… Both parties are equally culpable of communal divide, hatred, genocide to profit personally.