Over the past two days, congratulatory messages have been pouring in from all sections of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for Droupadi Murmu, the presidential candidate of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). However, the party’s celebrations in Madhya Pradesh stood out.
At an event in Bhopal organised to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for picking the former Jharkhand governor as the party’s nominee, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan dressed up in tribal attire and even danced holding a placard celebrating Ms. Murmu’s nomination.
A BJP leader said that the party was of the view that such “grand celebrations” to mark the nomination of a tribal woman for the top post for the first time in Independent India’s history will complement its earlier efforts to regain the advantage in the State’s tribal pockets for next year’s Assembly election.
“There are many States where the BJP is ruling but Mr. Chouhan senses the importance of such optics. Ms. Murmu’s rise from a corporator to [nomination to] the highest post in the country gives the cadre a belief that it can rise through the ranks in the BJP. Also, it helps us expand our social base,” said the leader.
Mr. Chouhan had said earlier that by placing different sections of the society in appropriate positions, the BJP was not only uplifting the tribal society through development, but was also giving it respect. This messaging also echoed in his addresses after the nomination of Sumitra Valmiki, a Scheduled Caste candidate in the recently concluded Rajya Sabha elections. Back then too, Mr. Chouhan had repeatedly spoken of her humble beginnings and how the BJP provided a level-playing field for all, origins notwithstanding.
Apart from representation, the party has made attempts to draw in the Scheduled Tribe population of 1.53 crore that is key to winning 47 of the 230 Assembly seats. In 2018, the Congress won 31 of these seats, while the BJP was reduced to 18, a sharp decline from the 37 it won in the 2013 elections. In the recent past, Mr. Chouhan has launched a slew of targeted welfare measures — such as bonus for collectors of forest produce. The BJP government in the State also renamed Habibganj railway station after the erstwhile tribal queen of Bhopal, Rani Kamlapati, and had organised a Janajatiya Gaurav Diwas on the birth anniversary of freedom fighter and tribal hero Birsa Munda last year.
Despite the symbolism, National Crime Records Bureau numbers suggest that there have been a sustained increase in the atrocities against STs and Scheduled Castes over the past three to four years. One of the most recent incidents was the lynching of two tribal men in Seoni by a mob that accused them of cow slaughter.
The BJP also believes that it can exploit the dilemma of Congress MLAs from tribal seats on the issue of who to vote for in the Presidential polls, something that a cross section of Congress MLAs do not rule out.
“There is the party and its rules and then there is the question of ten crore tribals and their rights. I am yet to take a call on whom to vote but I am happy that Ms. Murmu has been chosen for the post. I hope if she becomes the President, she should work towards better implementation of tribal rights vis-à-vis the Schedule V and Schedule VI areas,” says a Congress MLA who represents one of the seats reserved for the tribals.
However, there are voices within the BJP that warn against taking political mileage out of the situation. Former Chief Minister Uma Bharti on Thursday tweeted that the President’s post, being that of the constitutional head of the country, was above caste boundaries and therefore, no comments seeking political advantage should be made.
