A mega event to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to mark Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas on November 15 is part of the ruling BJP's plan to bring back tribals of Madhya Pradesh into its fold, especially after a cold shoulder from the segment in 2018 saw it lose power in the state after 15 years of uninterrupted rule.
As per the 2011 Census, tribals account for 1.53 crore, or 21.08 per cent, of the state's 7.26 crore population, and 47 Assembly seats in the 230-member House are reserved for Scheduled Tribes.
Political observers said tribals account for at least 50,000 votes each in 35 other Assembly seats, and the segment could once again make the difference for the ruling BJP in the 2023 state polls. The Congress had managed to trump the BJP in 2018 and attain power in the state after winning 31 of the 47 ST seats, with the rest going to the latter.
In 2003, the BJP had managed to unseat the Congress government of Digvijaya Singh by winning 37 of 41 ST seats. The catalyst for this ride to power of the BJP, observers said, was a massive 'Hindu Conference' held in Jhabua in 2002 in which over two lakh tribals took part.
In the 2008 Assembly polls, when the delimitation exercise increased ST seats to 47, the BJP continued to hold sway in the segment by winning 41 of them. In 2013, the BJP returned to power in MP, with the party pocketing 31 of the 47 ST seats.
The BJP, which came back to power in early 2020 after several Congress MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia switched sides, is sparing no efforts to ensure it manages to keep the tribal electorate in the state firmly on its side. The plan is to draw over 2.50 lakh tribals to the Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas event at Jamboree Maidan here on Monday, coinciding with the birth anniversary of legendary tribal icon Birsa Munda.
With the PM, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Governor Mangu Bhai Patel, himself a tribal, and state party chief VD Sharma scheduled to attend wearing traditional tribal headgear, party sources said over 5,000 buses will be deployed to bring people to the venue from across MP. Arrangements have also been made for their food and accommodation here, these sources added.
The BJP's efforts to make the event a grand success, however, attracted a jibe from senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh who claimed the MP government was spending over Rs 12 crore to bring crowds to Monday's event.
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