He wants to make himself available for campaigning of the alliance candidates.
The announcement of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and president of Janata Congress of Chhattisgarh (JCC) Ajit Jogi not to contest next month’s Assembly elections is being seen as the final step towards passing his political baton on to his son Amit and daughter-in-law Richa.
His wife Renu, who is the Congress MLA from Kota in Bilaspur, is also unlikely to contest the elections this time, indicating both the senior Jogis would prefer to allow their next generation to flourish in Chhattisgarh politics.
Kota is the neighbouring constituency of Jogi’s traditional Marwahi seat, which is being represented by Amit now. Renu had entered politics after quitting her government service as head of the ENT Department in Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Raipur.
While Amit will be contesting on a JCC ticket, wife Richa will be a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate. Ajit Jogi has entered into an electoral alliance with BSP led by Mayawati, who was being wooed by the Congress too.
Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, Amit said, “Ajit Jogi is the president of the party and CM nominee of the alliance. He will be needed in all the 90 constituencies as the candidates of the alliance have already booked his campaign dates all over the state. So it would not be possible for him to contest election at the same time.”
“Amit has been learning under his father’s shadow since 2000 when his father became the CM. He has been an MLA for a term now and has more than enough political experience under his belt. He is the one who handles the nitty-gritties of the party affairs while Jogiji manages bigger issues. However, it will be the senior Jogi who will be the CM if we are able to form government as he has more acceptability among the voters. But the generational change has been put into effect,” a source close to the family said.
Earlier, while speaking to this newspaper in July, Ajit Jogi had stated that he would be contesting from the Rajnandgaon seat from where Chief Minister Raman Singh is the sitting MLA. However, sources close to the leader said that after the tie-up with BSP and CPI, the party leadership felt that it would not be prudent to restrict him to only one constituency.
“If he would have contested against the CM from Rajnandgaon, the party and he himself would have been forced to focus only on his seat. With that limitation gone, he will now be campaigning extensively throughout the state and focus on all the 90 Assembly seats,” the sources added.
The party is expecting to garner a vote share of close to 15% to 25% and emerge as the largest party in the triangular fight which includes the ruling BJP and the Congress.
“We have a realistic expectation and we know where we can win and where we cannot. In the last few elections, BSP has managed to get 5% vote. This time, with Jogi and Mayawati coming together, the votes of tribals and Dalits, who constitute more than 30% and 13% of the total population respectively, will help us in performing well in a large number of seats. That apart, the businessmen and middle class too fondly remember the CM tenure of Jogi when the bureaucrats were kept under control and corruption at the top level was minimal,” a party leader claimed.
The JCC has announced 46 candidates out of the 55 seats it will contest, Amit said. The BSP is contesting on 33 seats, while CPI will contest the remaining two seats of Sukma and Dantewada in the Maoists-infested Bastar region having 12 seats.