This is one of the few constituencies in Chhattisgarh where neither the J (either Jogi or Judeo) nor the C factor (Chhattisgarhia pride) holds any ground. The only man who is going to make a difference on this seat, supporters and rivals unanimously agree, is former Madhya Pradesh CM and veteran Cong leader Motilal Vora, who has won from the constituency six times, the last time in 1990. But the coming polls may be Vora’s toughest battle here. His son and chosen successor, Arun Vora, had contested from here in 1998 and lost. It was the first time the BJP had made an impact in the Congress fortress since 1962, and Vora is determined not to allow a repeat. There are a record 17 candidates in the fray from the seat, which has the highest number of voters in the state, 3.6 lakh. The BJP has renominated Hemchandra Yadav. Arun Vora’s task isn’t made easier by the fact that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by former Union minister and Congress leader V.C. Shukla, has also put up a candidate—Congress rebel Shelja Pandey. Interestingly Arun is not likely to get much help from Ajit Jogi either, as there is no love love between his father and the CM. The senior Vora had lost the chief ministerial race to Jogi in November 2000, and gone back to the Rajya Sabha with Sonia Gandhi’s help. But Vora never lost sight of Durg. Over the past three years, he has spent at least Rs 3 crore on this constituency alone out of his MP Local Area Development Fund, leading to some controversy as there are 11 constituencies in the district. The BJP has also raised the question of the favouritism shown to Durg at the cost of other areas. But far from dissuaded, Vora is personally leading the Congress campaign here and with own prestige at stake, hasn’t ventured out to any other constituency. ‘‘We have not touched the Judeo issue and there is also no need. It’s Babuji (the senior Vora) and his goodwill that are ultimately going to make a difference,’’ says a confident Arun. According to his poll managers, who have done some analysis of the 1998 loss, ‘‘Babuji had lost contact with masses as he was busy in national politics. They were also overconfident. Besides, a big chunk of Muslim voters in Bhilai had got annoyed and not supported the Congress.’’ There are reports that Vora has this time entered into a tactical understanding with Badur-u-din Qureshi, a sitting minister and Congress candidate from Bhilai to get support of Muslim voters in exchange of the help he extended to him for getting a party ticket. Apparently Jogi opposed Qureshi’s candidature but Vora had intervened and got him a ticket. The Vora connection notwithstanding, there is little to put Durg apart from other constituencies. Spread across an urban township, it covers a major chunk of Bhilai town, but also at least 39 gram panchayats in surrounding areas and quite a few slums. The BJP hopes to capitalise on the uneven development of the constituency, with rural areas lacking basic amenities like roads, employment and drinking water. Interestingly, the local municipal corporation is headed by the BJP and thus the urban areas don’t figure in its list of grievances. The OBCs may also play a crucial role as they are the dominant force in the constituency. Yadav, incidentally, happens to be an OBC, which is why the BJP preferred him to Durg Mayor Saroj Pandey.
