Cong vs ex-Cong in tribal land

In the tribal hinterland of Dahod, 'Poll 2009' will be fought on development plank — with poor and illiterate tribals braving the April heat to elect the person who they think would bring a change in their lives. In this Lok Sabha constituency, more than 80 per cent of nearly 12 lakh voters are tribals, and the area has remained largely undeveloped even six decades after India's Independence.

The poll battle here is between two Congress candidates, virtually. While Dr Prabhaben Taviyad is the official Congress candidate, Somji Damor, the BJP candidate, is a veteran Congress leader who left his parent party just before the BJP announced his name last month.

In Dahod, about 50% of people are not literate.  Many villages in the constituency lack basic amenities like electricity supply, potable water and roads. And most of the voters live below poverty line, while many of them have to migrate for work.

Though the BJP has sent its representative (Babubhai Katara) twice - in 1999 and 2004 -  to Lok Sabha from Dahod, the constituency is basically a Congress stronghold. 

Damor had been seven-time Congress MP from here from 1977 to 1998. In 1999, he was defeated by Katara by over 12,000 votes. In 2004, Damor contested as a BNP candidate and got over 45,000 votes, when Katara defeated Taviyad by 361 votes.

This time, however, the dynamics are different. Damor, who had created the Congress image in poor tribals' mind by his sheer hard work, is the BJP candidate. Coming from a tribal community, Damor has always been with people, because of which he commands respect among people of the area. This personal attribute of Damor has, in fact, given a big hope to the BJP that aims at retaining the seat for the third time in a row.

But Congress leaders think otherwise. They say Damor's charisma has fizzled out among the voters of Dahod. "There is no development that can be termed as Damor's contribution. As majority of voters are committed to the party and not the candidate, Damor as a BJP candidate will not make any difference to us,'' said a party leader.

Like Damor, Taviyad also comes from a tribal community. A medical practitioner, she has been active in catering to the medical needs of people in the area for a long time. She has a clean image, and to boost her electoral prospects, she has been extensively travelling in the constituency.

On the other hand, the BJP is trying to cash in on chief minister Narendra Modi's charisma. But so far as electioneering is concerned, there is hardly any buzz in the saffron camp. Says Motisingh Mali, president of Dahod unit of the BJP: "There is no internal conflict over Damor contesting as the BJP candidate. Rather, party workers are working wholeheartedly and we will surely win with a sizable margin."

The BJP has, however, raked up an issue against the Congress candidate. The party says while Damor is a local candidate, Taviyad is an outsider. Reacts Taviyad: "I am a local candidate, though I originally belong to Dungarpur. I have been working at various hospitals of Dahod. My husband has been a member of taluka panchayat for long. My professional life proves that I am readily available."

But for poor voters, what matters most is a change in their life. As in the case of '108' service that has saved many lives in the area. Though both the parties do not hesitate to take credit for the service, voters wait to see other schemes like this that will mitigate their hardships.