The Chhattisgarh Sarva Adivasi Samaj (SAS) – a body that represents tribals in the State and acts as an umbrella for various social movements taken up by the community – on Wednesday announced that it would contest the Assembly elections due later this year.
At a press conference in Raipur, Arvind Netam, a former Union minister who is the patron of the Samaj, said the body has decided that it would be contesting in all the 29 reserved tribal seats as well as twenty-odd general seats where the tribals comprise 20 to 40% of the population.
“For a decade and a half we have been raising issues pertaining to tribal rights, but the political class has disappointed us consistently. The decision to contest elections stems from this disappointment because the ruling parties [the Congress and the BJP] have failed to provide us what is constitutionally ours. This will be the first of its kind experiment in the country where a social movement will enter the political fray,” said Mr. Netam, 80, who continues to be a primary member of the ruling Congress.
While specifics such as candidate selection and electoral symbols will be worked out in the coming months, the SAS has a 23-point agenda that it plans to take to people while seeking votes and counts on its long history of activism to find cadres.
The 23-point agenda focuses on a range of issues – from reservations to rights over Jal, Jungle, Zameen (water, forests and land).
The most topical among them is the restoration of 32% reservation (part of the 58% overall reservations in government jobs and educational institutions that the State provides). The 58% reservation was set aside by the Chhattisgarh High Court last year that promoted the Samaj to field a candidate as an experiment in the Bhanupratappur by-elections last year. It considers the 16 per cent its candidate Akbar Korram polled “without any preparation or resources” a good beginning.
A recent Supreme Court order putting a stay on the September 2022 High Court order has paved the way for recruitments and admissions, and it was being speculated that the Samaj would reconsider its decision to take the electoral plunge. However, BS Rawte, the executive State president of SAS, said the issue of reservations remained relevant as it was the failure of the State government to present its case that led to the delay.
“Also, reservations in promotions and a higher percentage in districts where tribal population touches almost 80% are within the purview of the State government which it has failed to implement,” said Mr. Rawte. The speakers also criticized the Bhupesh Baghel-led State’s Congress government for diluting the provisions of the PESA law notified in Chhattisgarh last year.
Mr. Netam spoke of tying up with smaller parties – including BSP and the Left- to set up a third front, but said Aam Aadmi Party, that is also planning to contest in Chhattisgarh, had “become a national party now”.
The veteran who has served as a union minister and was an MP for five terms sidetepped questions on who would the move hurt more, the Congress or the BJP. Congress swept the tribal belts of Bastar and Sarguja in 2018 and support from social groups such as the SAS and its constituents was crucial in its win the last time.
Meanwhile, in the tribal belts, the BJP is counting on issues such as delisting of tribals who have converted to other religions and cornering the Congress on the issue of religious conversions. Netam, however, said he disagreed with the party’s stance on delisting.
