- Cong will face the challenge of maintaining control
- Will BJP be able to make a comeback this time?
Chronicle Reporter, Balaghat
Baihar assembly seat of the district is reserved for Scheduled Tribes. The interesting nature of the voters of this tribal dominated assembly is that they change the candidate of any political party after 10 years. At present, Congress District President Sanjay Singh Uike is the MLA here. Hence, in view of the past political history, the question arises whether Congress will be successful in retaining its hold on Baihar seat in the upcoming assembly elections.
The question also arises that whether the BJP, which tasted defeat by 16,480 votes in the 2018 elections and declared Bhagat Singh Netam as its candidate much before the elections, will be able to make a comeback this time?
Baihar assembly seat is considered a stronghold of Congress. Apart from Congress and BJP, Gondwana Republic Party has also been leaving its mark on this seat in every election, but has not been able to win. Whereas in the fifth assembly i.e. since 1972, only the faces of Netam family from BJP and Uike family from Congress have been seen.
About 60 percent of the tribal people of Baiga tribe live in Baihar, apparently because of this, the politics here has also been done keeping these tribals at the center. The main contest on this seat has been between Congress and BJP. In 2018, Mrs. Anupama Netam of BJP had to face defeat. At present, Congress leader Sanjay Uike, who comes from the tribal community, is the MLA and his ticket is considered confirmed due to which a fierce contest can be seen between BJP candidate Bhagat Singh Netam and Sanjay Uike.
A look at the last elections… In Baihar, the only seat reserved for the tribal community in the district, in the elections held between 1951 to 2018, Congress has won 9 times, BJP 4 times, Jan Sangh 1 time, Independents 1 time. In the year 2018, there were a total of 9 candidates, in which Sanjay Uike of Congress got 79,399 votes and Smt. Anupama Netam of BJP got 62,919 votes. Uike defeated Netam by 16,480 votes. Gopal Kusre of Gongpa took 16,994 votes. In the year 2023, the ticket of the present MLA from Congress is confirmed, while cutting the ticket of Mrs. Anupama Netam from BJP, former MLA Bhagat Netam has been declared the candidate.
Naxalites become a hindrance in development…
Baihar assembly constituency is adjacent to Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra and is a dense forest area. Naxalites started establishing a foothold in this area since the 1990s. After creating terror by killing a Patel in 1990-91, Naxalites have spread their foothold in Baihar since then, due to which even today development is far away in these areas. Tribal villagers are still deprived of roads, electricity, water and houses.
