Korba: Reflection of ethnic, industrial fusion
| Date :02-Apr-2019 |
By Kritika Tiwari,
KORBA, Apr 1 Popularly known as the ‘Power Capital’, Korba gets its name from the Korva tribes of the district. A leading name in production of coal, electricity and Kosa, the area houses a rich diversity. From the tribal Korvas to mine/plant labourers and service class to business class- there is an entire variety sum up to form a diverse voter base which is difficult to attract by any single stroke. Korba Lok Sabha constituency, which came into being in the year 2008, is going to witness its third Lok Sabha election. Separated from Janjgir constituency in the 2008 demarcation, Korba became an independent Lok Sabha with 8 assembly constituencies, viz Bharatpur-Sonahat (ST/SC), Rampur (ST/SC), Pali-Tanakhar (ST/SC), Manendragarh (General), Korba (Gen), Marwahi (ST/SC), Baikunthpur (Gen) and Katghora (Gen). Out of these, four assemblies fall under the district boundaries, while four are situated in other districts. It is worth mentioning that prior to demarcation, Korba had its importance only as a district headquarter. Neither an assembly nor a constituency, the district was often neglected in development schemes. Comprising of just three assemblies- Katghora, Rampur and Tanakhar, Korba was much lower in the hierarchy of political importance. After the demarcation, Korba assembly and Korba constituency were born simultaneously.
This immediately brought it in the focus of political parties and the Lok Sabha Elections of 2009 witnessed a tug of war between two major political entities of the state- Dr. Charan Das Mahant (Congress) and Karuna Shukla (BJP). The selection of such strong candidates by both the national parties highlighted the importance of the newly-formed constituency.
Till date, the constituency has given 50-50 results to Congress and BJP. Dr Charan Das Mahant won the Lok Sabha Election-2009 for Congress after defeating BJP candidate Karuna Shukla by 20,737 votes. However, Dr. Mahant lost the 2014 general election to Dr. Banshilal Mahto of BJP by 4265 votes. This time, a total of 14,78,905 voters will elect their representative. Jyotsana Mahant of Congress and Jyotinand Dubey of BJP are pitted against each other. While Congress is banking on the popularity of Dr Mahant in the constituency, BJP has betted on the clean image and fresh face of Dubey. Another prominent name which was circulating in the political corridors was that of former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, who was rumored to be contesting from his newly-formed party JCCJ.
However, no clear declaration has been made by the party till date. While the Lok Sabha elections of 2014 had witnessed a general sweep in favour of Narendra Modi but after the recent assembly elections in the state Congress has returned to power. Both the leading candidates filed their candidature and the nomination rallies proved to be a power display of the national parties. While the state Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel led the rally for Congress candidate Jyotsana Mahant, former cabinet minister Brijmohan Agrawal reached the city to appeal votes for Jyotinand Dubey. While Congress is counting its achievements in the state like farmer loan waiver and cutting down power tariff, BJP is speaking more on national causes like surgical strike, Pulwama revenge, international treaties and the achievements of the Narendra Modi government.
However, the common voter is far from the tussle of these national parties and yearns for a leader who will address the local issues like land-displacement, cutting down of forests, irrigation facilities, elephant attacks and pollution. Being an industrial district, Korba includes majority of its citizens from various states of the nation. Though most of them have been living here for past several years and are now registered as local voters, the district does not have any preference for local leader. On the other hand, the educated, working class is not ready to cast its vote in name of any particular party and the voters have put the ca dates under scanner. While Jyotsana Mahant shall be reaping the benefits of her husband’s popularity and work record, Jyotinand Dubey has served as the Chairman for Food Commission.
Although, the local profiles of the candidates cannot be counted as the only factors to determine victory and defeat in the elections. The national faces of the party are sure to play a major role as the election finally aims at electing the prime minister for the country and the citizens of Korba are well aware of this fact. PM Narendra Modi has been a favourite of many for his stand on national security issues, while Rahul Gandhi has failed to attract public on this front. On the other hand, many are eager to question Modi on his inability to bring back black money or generate employment opportunities. Several assumptions are being made regarding the upcoming elections and both the parties are working to lure the voters. Special care is being given to attract the young voters who will be casting their votes for the first time.
The recent rush of citizens for registering themselves as voters has given hope of generating better polling percentage. During the 2014 elections, 5,46,046 out of the 7,25,821 registered male voters had participated in the polling, while among women, 5,06,674 out of 6,93,789 voters cast their votes. Hence, the total number of votes cast in the election was 10,52,720, was formed 74.15% of the total registered voters. This time, a total of 14,78,905 voters have been registered in the district. These include 7,44,543 male, 7,34,320 female and 42 third gender voters. This shows an increase of 59,295 voters in the constituency. Along with the increase in registered voters, election commission is also hoping for an increase in the polling percentage after long sequence of activities and campaigns under Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme.