As Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh gears up for polls, due by the end of this year, the race to secure the support of the Scheduled Castes (SC) — a formidable block of voters in a State where is politics dominated by Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) — has intensified.
The Congress’ national president Mallikarjun Kharge on August 14 sounded the poll bugle from Janjgir-Champa, an area where SCs form a major vote bank, sending ripples across the Bilaspur region, which forms a block of 24 Assembly seats in the 90-member Assembly, and of the ten seats reserved for SCs, four fall in this area.
It is estimated that while they form just over 12% of the total electorate in the State, the SC population in this region is around 18%. Moreover, the Satnami community, which forms the biggest block within the SC umbrella, is mostly concentrated in this area, and can influence elections well beyond the reserved seats.
