Chhattisgarh Sarva Adivasi Samaj (SAS) – a body that represents tribals in the state and acts as an umbrella for various social movements taken up by the community – announced on Wednesday that it would Wale will contest the assembly elections.
At a press conference in Raipur, Arvind Netam, former Union minister who is the custodian of the society, said the body has decided that it will contest all the 29 reserved tribal seats as well as twenty-odd general seats where the tribal population is sizable. comprises 20 to 40% of
“For a decade and a half, we have been raising issues related to the rights of tribals, but the political class has consistently let us down. The decision to contest elections stems from this frustration of the ruling parties. [the Congress and the BJP] They have failed to provide us what is constitutionally ours. This will be a first-of-its-kind experiment in the country where a social movement will enter the political fray,” said Mr. Netam, 80, who remains a primary member of the ruling Congress.
While the selection of candidates and symbols will be worked out in the coming months, the SAS has a 23-point agenda it plans to take on the people while seeking votes and counts on its long history of activism to find cadres.
The 23-point agenda focuses on a range of issues – from reservation to rights over Jal, Jungle, Zameen (Jal, Jungle and Zameen).
The most topical among them is the restoration of 32% reservation (which forms part of the 58% overall reservation that the state offers) in government jobs and educational institutions. The Chhattisgarh High Court had last year set aside the 58% reservation, which encouraged the samaj to field candidates as an experiment in the Bhanupratappur bypoll last year. It considers its 16 per cent candidate, Akbar Korram, to be a good start “without any preparation or resources”.
A recent Supreme Court order staying the High Court order of September 2022 has paved the way for recruitments and admissions, and it was being speculated that the society would reconsider its decision to enter the electoral fray. However, SAS acting state president BS Raote said the issue of reservation remains relevant as it was the failure on the part of the state government to present its case that led to the delay.
“Moreover, reservation in promotion and higher percentage in districts where tribal population is around 80% are within the purview of the state government, which it has failed to implement,” Mr. Raote said. The speakers also criticized the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government in the state for diluting the provisions of the PESA law notified in Chhattisgarh last year.
Mr. Netam spoke of forging a third front with smaller parties, including the BSP and the Left, but said the Aam Aadmi Party, which plans to contest in Chhattisgarh as well, “has now become a national party”. “.
The veteran leader, who served as a Union minister and was a five-time MP, sidestepped the question of who would be hurt more by the move, the Congress or the BJP. The Congress won the tribal areas of Bastar and Surguja in 2018, and the support of social groups like the SAS and its constituents was crucial to its victory last time.
Meanwhile, in the tribal areas, the BJP is banking on issues like removal of tribals converted to other religions and cornering the Congress on the issue of conversions. However, Netam said he disagrees with the party’s stand on delisting.