In an ocean of saffron, Rajgarh stands out like a blue island. This is the home turf of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh — a red rag for the Hindutva ecosystem.
If Nehru is blamed by the BJP for challenges that India faces today, Singh is the “culprit” for the Sangh ecosystem in MP. But in Rajgarh, he is a benevolent king who the people turn to in times of need.
This local charm, rather than the national push against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is what the Congress is selling. The discontent against incumbent BJP MP Rodmal Nagar is the wind in its sails.
Tailor Gopal Singh Chandrawat is 68, and has been with the RSS since the age of 10. He says he went to the same Officers’ Training Camp as Nagar.
“His attitude today has broken my heart. When he visits, he seldom even gets out of his car… He has been voted to power twice, merely because he is Modi’s ‘jamai,’” he says in a sarcasm-laden tone in his shop, surrounded by customers and friends.
Chandrawat is an example of influence even without any political position that RSS workers hold in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. Although Chandrawat barely makes ends meet in his crumbling hole-in-the-wall shop, anyone who passes by hangs on to his words like gospel truth.
“Neither my wife nor I receive the old age pension we are supposed to as I am told that we are too rich. We all know of many who drive cars and yet get this pension… Pachor is the hub of economic activity in Rajgarh. It has not been upgraded to a railway junction, something that the BJP had promised. We voted for Rodmalji to uplift this backward place. If Digvijayaji listens to us, why will people not support him,” he asks.
The village of Ganiyari near Narsinghgarh town has just one demand — water.
“The government keeps saying they will give water. After Mohan Yadav (became chief minister) they’ve even stopped making that promise. Cattle have died here of thirst. We voted for Modiji, but Rodmalji has not even visited our village. Only Digvijayaji listens to us and we have some chance of getting water if he wins,” says youngster Poonam Gurjar, who uses a motorcycle to make multiple trips to a far-off well to get water.
Rajesh Verma, a printing shop employee from the Dalit-majority village of Bamora Sukha near Boda, points out that Digvijaya’s charm isn’t merely because he is the scion of the Raghogarh royal family that falls in the constituency.
“Digvijayaji and his son (MLA Jaivardhan Singh) give the same respect to everyone irrespective of their caste. They will come and shake your hand and even eat in your house if you invite them,” Rajesh says.
“The BJP has been winning here because of the work done by Shivraj Chouhan. In my village, testing for the tapped water scheme was done but water never came and the local contractor — a BJP worker — has vanished with the tanks that were to be installed. When we go to complain, they always say he (Rodmal) is in Delhi. All parties make money but the local corruption here is too much now.”
The BJP is banking on its welfare schemes for women, and the free rations, started during the pandemic. “I can’t bite the hand that feeds,” says Chaturbhuj Verma, a Dalit from Ambedkarnagar village in Rajgarh district.
“Yes, land was distributed to Dalits here during Digvijayaji’s tenure, but it is Modi’s rations that feed us now. With inflation as it is, we would not survive without it…. Rodmalji also wouldn’t survive without Modiji,” he adds.
- Rajgarh votes on May 7
