Email
Print
ShareMumbai: They came, canvassed and won the votes their party coveted.
A low-key canvassing by Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh and his agriculture minister Chandrashekhar Sahu at east Nagpur's run-down localities contributed to the stunning defeat of Satish Chaturvedi, Congress heavyweight, former minister and five-time legislator from the constituency dominated by migrant Chhattisgarh communities.
Away from the media glare and without much paraphernalia, the BJP leaders from the neighbouring state made no hoopla about their presence in the city, even as the election fever was atits peak.
"Yes, they did canvass for me, but I never got to meet them except for at two public meetings," said Khopde, who beat Chaturvedi in what was considered his impenetrable forte, by a thumping margin of 35,000.
The Chhattisgarhi community's estimated 15,000 votes in this constituency tiled in his favour. "They told me, aap apna kaam kijiye, yaha ki chinta chod dijiye (you continue with your work, rest assured about this area)."
The Chattisgarh chief minister and his minister camped for two days before October 12 polling date at the predominantly Chattisgarhi labourers' settlements at Dipti Signal and Mini Mata Nagar localities.
The Congress leader, who calls himself Chhattisgarh's son-in-law, harnessed and facilitated the settlement for two decades to build this strong vote base. All the previous election results show that the Sena-BJP never succeeded in cracking this pocket.
Chhattisgarhi vote would always be the major difference. The BJP had been trying to win over the Chhattisgarhis. "This time around," said Devendra Fadnavis, BJP's elected legislator from west Nagpur, "Raman Singh turned it around for us."
Not only did Khopde get the Marathi OBC vote, but also the votes of OBCs from Chhattisgarh who have made Nagpur their home. The BJP leaders from the neighbouring states also addressed two small public rallies, but the events remained beyond the media glare.
"They went to the slum dwellers with the promise of working for their cause," said a BJP worker Tekchand Sonboir. "They told people we would work for you even if we lose." The Chhattisgarhi slum dwellers, results now indicate, taught a simmering lesson to the Congress leader by voting for Khopde en masse.
"People were thrilled to see them," Sonboir said. Between the promise of doles and dignity, they chose the latter."
