Tribal politics in the name of Vishnudev Sai
By declaring Vishnudev Sai as the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, the Bharatiya Janata Party has hit many birds with one stone. Anyway, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to giving the vibrant tribal society a new peak of progress and proper representation in politics. By making Draupadi Murmu the President of India, he has tried to live up to the expectations of this community. Certainly, Vishnudev Sai becoming the Chief Minister has brought happiness among the tribal community. Along with Chhattisgarh, BJP will also benefit in the neighboring states of Jharkhand and Odisha, and the tribal community people of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan will also be influenced.
With a view to the Lok Sabha elections of 2024, Vishnudev Sai’s decision will create a new political ground and reveal new political directions.
The decision to make down to earth, humble, honest and simple Vishnudev Sai the Chief Minister was definitely taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President J.P. It is the result of Nadda’s bold and charismatic politics coupled with his far-reaching thinking and political maturity. Vishnudev Sai is a big name in the politics of Chhattisgarh because till now he has been a four-time MP, three-time MLA, the command of BJP President in Chhattisgarh and also a Minister of State in the Central Government.
Vishnudev’s late grandfather Budhnath Sai, who became MLA for the first time at the age of 26, was an MLA from 1947 to 1952. His late uncle Narhari Prasad Sai had also been MLA twice and MP once. Vishnudev Sai had contested the latest elections from Kunkuri assembly seat, in which he won by 25 thousand 541 votes.
Vishnudev Sai, known to be a man of few words and extremely polite, is considered very close to former Chief Minister Raman Singh. Certainly his innings as Chief Minister will be historic, unforgettable and an example of political maturity. Born on 21 February 1964 in a tribal family, Vishnudev Sai studied till 10th class from Loyala Higher Secondary School, Kunkuri.
Amit Shah had also said during the election campaign, Vishnudevji is our experienced worker, leader, MP, MLA, state president. BJP has brought before you an experienced leader. You make him an MLA, we will do the work of making him a big man.’ Amit Shah has fulfilled his promise of making him a big man so quickly. Anyway, after BJP’s capture of 17 out of 29 seats reserved for the tribal community in the assembly of Chhattisgarh, which has 32 percent tribal population, it was believed that BJP could make any tribal MLA the Chief Minister or Deputy Chief Minister. Prime Minister Modi has made corruption a big issue ever since he came to power.
ED, CBI and Income Tax are raiding the houses of opposition party leaders involved in corruption. Income tax raid has been conducted at the house of Jharkhand Congress MP Dheeraj Sahu and Rs 500 crore has been recovered. That is why BJP wants to bring forward honest leaders, Vishnudev Sai is down to earth, tribal and despite being in political life for a long time, is away from corruption charges. In such a situation, he fit perfectly into this category of BJP and was also a strong contender for the post of Chief Minister. Along with honesty, humility is also his great specialty. A day earlier he had said – “Humility should not be considered a weakness. I consider it my strength and I will try to remain humble throughout my life.”
Due to political interests, since independence, the tribals living in the forests and hilly areas have always been suppressed and crushed due to which their life has remained destitute. Congress captured power many times in the name of tribals, but did not do any concrete work for their welfare. While the tribal community has been considered to be of Congress ideology, but Narendra Modi has won the hearts of the tribal people with his wisdom and prudence.
In 2007, when he was the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi launched the Vanbandhu scheme worth Rs 15,000 crore in a function under the leadership of Jain saint Gani Rajendra Vijayji in Kavant, a tribal area of Gujarat. These days, this Jain monk was discussed by the Prime Minister in election meetings and in a meeting in Gujarat.
He has feelings of tribal welfare in his mind. If seen from the point of view of political manipulation, while Congress is polarizing and appeasing the Muslim votes, the tribal community is seen becoming the light for BJP. Certainly these tribal votes are going to play an important role in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
When BJP is moving towards creating a Hindu nation, the tribal community can play an important role. A big problem among the tribals is religious conversion. Due to temptations and communal forces, many tribals are changing their religion and moving out of the tribal society in which Christianity is most accepted. Christian missionaries have launched successful campaigns for conversion in schools and hostels in the tribal areas of India, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Andaman Nicobar, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
In such a situation, the tribals’ own culture and their existence came under threat. Tribal means one who has been living in the forests since the beginning. About 400 generations ago, all Indians lived in forests and were tribals, but due to development, first villages were formed, then towns and finally cities and metropolises. This is where the division started. Those who remained in the forests became known as forest dwellers, those who remained in villages became called villagers and those who went to cities became known as city dwellers. in india
