Chhattisgarh: Bypoll won, new district delivered, Baghel govt revs up for polls with state tours, reviews

The Congress party released a special manifesto for the Khairagarh bypoll and promised creation of the district within 24 hours of winning the bypoll. Sources in the government say officials worked on their days off to achieve the feat.

The recent announcements and work on the new district are being seen as part of the Congress party’s preparations for the Assembly polls, which are less than two years away. The Chief Minister has started daily departmental reviews and has planned a state-wide tour of all constituencies next month.

As per a release from the state’s Department of Public Relations, during his visit CM Baghel will randomly pick three villages in each of the 90 constituencies for inspection. He will also reach out to sections that have been protesting across the state, focusing on tribal population and their issues regarding implementation of Forest Rights Act and forest produce procurement.

While CM Baghel’s tour will begin on May 2, many members of his Cabinet are already on tour of the state. Excise minister Kawasi Lakhma has been visiting areas in Bastar region for nearly a month and attended a tribal festival, Dornapal Jatra in Sukma two weeks ago.

Recently, his comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sparked a row with the opposition BJP demanding an apology from him. On April 21, during his visit to Sukma’s Chintalnar, Lakhma had said that despite his visit to the region and people’s expectations of him, “PM Modi had done nothing for the tribals in Bastar”. “We are ensuring that tribals across the region are benefitting from the schemes of the Congress government,” he told the press.

Minister for Urban Administration, Shiv Dehariya, also began his tour on Wednesday, announcing that he will visit all urban bodies across the state to inspect their work. According to a release from the government, Dehariya is also going to inspect development works and schemes.

On April 25, Health Minister T S Singh Deo also announced a state-wide tour from the first week of May. He said that he will meet locals and officials, reviewing work done under his departments – Panchayat, Health, and GST. He began departmental review meetings in Raipur from Tuesday.

Days before CM Baghel’s tour, and even as he holds departmental reviews, the government issued fresh posting orders to 18 IAS and 28 IPS officers. Within the police department, 253 Thana in-charges and 318 sub-inspectors were transferred. Similar transfer lists were either issued or expected in other departments as well. While the government has been shuffling officers every few months, the recent move is being seen as a big shift ahead of the CM’s tour.

With three separate political and ‘image’ surveys being conducted by the ruling Congress in the state, it is plausible that the results of these have rushed the Cabinet ministers to start working on issues before the next election.