Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is seeing an unlikely challenge from the Congress ahead of the assembly polls, likely later this year.
A brigade of state Congress leaders, led by “Shiv bhakt” Rahul Gandhi, has promised gaushalas, or cow shelters, in every gram panchayat. They have also pledged to redevelop the “Ram Van Gaman Path”, a mythical route taken by Lord Rama during his 14-year exile, as narrated in Valmiki’s Ramayana.
Early this week, a number of hoardings showing Rahul Gandhi as a worshipper of Lord Shiva, in the backdrop of Kailash-Mansarovar, were seen at various places in Bhopal. The Congress president had sought the blessings of Hindu priests in the city’s Lalghati Square before embarking on an 18-km roadshow. “Shiv bhakt Rahul Gandhi ka jhilon ki nagri Bhopal mein swagat hai (Devotee of Lord Shiva, Rahul Gandhi, is welcome to the city of lakes, Bhopal),” reads one such hoarding. Rahul Gandhi had just returned from a 12-day pilgrimage to Kailash-Mansarovar, a sacred place for the Hindus.
Welcome to the majoritarian politics playing out in Madhya Pradesh, a state ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since 2003. The state is likely to see assembly polls in November-December. It has a population of 7.26 crore, according to the 2011 Census, out of which 90.9% are Hindus and 6.6% are Muslims. To woo the Hindus, the Congress has started a campaign with saffron hues.
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