It146;s about development

It's not difficult to locate this famed Marwahi village on Pendra-Rattanpur road but it does take some hours to make people there talk about...

It8217;s not difficult to locate this famed Marwahi village on Pendra-Rattanpur road but it does take some hours to make people there talk about its most famous son, Ajit Jogi.

Outsiders are not welcome, in fact they are looked upon with suspicion. Men either don8217;t know much about Jogi8217;s family or don8217;t want to talk about it. Congress supporters camping outside the village screen visitors and any questions about Jogi8217;s tribal identity are a strict no-no. Actually, the only link that the CM has today with the village is his newly built and unoccupied house in one corner. Other link supposedly is an ancestral house, a few yards away, where uncle Bishambar Singh lives.

Little as it is, the Jogi link is this village8217;s only distinguishing factor. Having a population of 2,000, Jogisar has nothing in the name of development. Most of the state first heard of the village when Jogi contested a 2001 by-election after becoming the CM from Marwahi constituency and there was a storm over his tribal identity.

Nand Kumar Sai, a seasoned BJP tribal leader standing against Jogi, has announced a Rs 5 lakh reward for anyone with proof to expose the CM8217;s tribal 8216;8216;lie8217;8217;. At the same time, he adds, Jogi8217;s caste credentials are not an issue in this polls. 8216;8216;That is for the courts to decide. It8217;s lack of development, and Jogi8217;s terror tactics,8217;8217; says Sai.

Few can contest at least the development issue, starting from power to roads.

Of the half a dozen handpumps which Jogi installed sometime ago, only one is functional, and Jogisar frequently suffers from shortage of drinking water. 8216;8216;There is no pond or river nearby,8217;8217; laments one of the women, Ram Bai.

The road that connects the village with Pendra was built just an year ago, but that8217;s hard to tell from its condition and potholes. In fact, most roads built in Marwahi in the past one year are in serious need of repair and reconstruction.

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The healthcare facilities are equally dismal. The villagers have never seen a senior doctor at the local health centre. 8216;8216;My son Lokesh is down with fever for the past three days. There is no doctor,8217;8217; says Shyama Bai.

The one thing that Jogi has brought to his native village is the upgradation of the local middle school to higher secondary and improvement in the electricity supply. 8216;8216;Frequent powercuts and low-voltage problems have been solved,8217;8217; says Lakhan Singh.

At Kumhari in Jogi8217;s Marwahi constituency, Bubia Bai insists Jogi visit her mohalla to known their living conditions.

The CM has come, at least for campaigning. Interestingly, before the elections, Jogi had said he wouldn8217;t campaign in Marwahi and that only his son Amit would do the vote-seeking. However, with the Dilip Singh Judeo video controversy changing the stakes in Chhattisgarh, Jogi spent the last few days before polling day here, going door to door canvassing. 8216;8216;It8217;s a moral defeat for Jogi,8217;8217; says Sai.

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8216;8216;Is baar margin kuch uncha hona chahiye. Ab panch saal ke liye raaj karna hai Ensure my margin is higher this time. We have to rule for five years now,8217;8217; Jogi has been telling villagers. Last time, the CM had won by over 50,000 votes after sitting BJP MLA Ram Dayal Uieki, who later defected to the Congress, vacated the seat for him.

Jogi is facing a triangular battle. While the BJP posters describe the battle as that between a 8216;8216;real adivasi8217;8217; Sai and a 8216;8216;bogus adivasi8217;8217; Jogi, the NCP8217;s Hemwant Porte, widow of veteran tribal leader and four-time MLA Bhanwar Porte, is also giving a tough fight.

Porte8212;a Gond tribal8212;has considerable influence in Badrodi belt and might take away a number of voters from Jogi. She had been a strong contender for the Congress ticket but Jogi did not oblige her. She took the plunge at the last moment on an NCP ticket.

However, there are some like Tulsi Ram who feel that in the end, it won8217;t be about caste but about who can do the most for Marwahi. 8216;8216;How does it matter for us, whether anyone says he is a Satnami or a Kanwar?8217;8217; he says.