MP elections: Citizens of Bhopal want an Indore
The assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh have been built as a choice that the electorate must make between corruption and development.
The BJP is trying to convert this into some kind of positive election campaign by talking singularly about what it feels has been its achievement over the last five years.
This is in stark contrast to what they had done in 2003 when all that they talked about was lack of water, lack of roads and lack of electricity in the state.
Now Shiv Raj Singh Chauhan tells the voters of Madhya Pradesh that he has got a sum of Rs 3,24,000 crore in the form of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that has been promised by several top companies.
A large sum of money has been bequeathed to the state and Madhya Pradesh has a golden era ahead, conveys the BJP.
“I have got Rs 3,24,000 crore of funds. I am building on electricity,” said state chief Shivraj Chauhan to the electorate in a bid to win another term.
On the ground though, even now most parts of MP are caught in a battle for the basic amenities – bijli, sadak, paani (electricity, roads, water).
MP has been many a times caught in what is often described to be a Hindu rate of growth.
It is surrounded by heavily industrialised states like Maharashtra and Gujarat but yet it has failed to take off.
It is true that there are many parts of MP which have simply not been touched by the industrial revolution.
But in Indore - the heart of Malwa belt - the kind of economic prosperity and the kind of ground level changes that are being witnessed are simply unimaginable.
Island of growth
Located just about 300 kilometers from Mumbai, Indore has followed in the foot steps of the capital of Maharashtra, earning the nick name ‘Mini Mumbai’ for itself.
Swanky hotels, posh houses, concrete roads dot Indores streets. One sees no sadhavi Pragya Thakur Singh related exchanges nor any terror talk.
Like any other cosmopolitan town, citizens are busy running on the road of fast life.
"If you talk about education percolating to all the strata of society, Indore has come up in the state itself as one of the central hub of educational facilities with the IITs and IIM coming up in Indore.
If one talks about the industries, Indore has a planned industrial setup from three sides - like the Bidampur, Desarver as well as the Devas town.
All these factors contribute to the people pooling in from outside and the locals too look forward to it.
“Well, Indore has a mixed business culture. A lot of the tourism is from the corporate sector but there are also people who want to travel for a holiday or for leisure,” said an Indore citizen, Mrs Ahluwalia.
From Bundelkhand to Mahakaushal to Malwa, MP in many ways is a melting pot of different identities and cultures.
Yet, an IIM, IIT or a proposed AIIMS; all top educational institutes are keen on setting up their bases in Indore.
This is the place that the state government projects as a showpiece. It is this place that mirrors its progress. One can’t help but feel that Indore is an island of growth as compared to the other regions of backwardness.
“The risk taking capabilities, the enterprising spirit of the people is available only in Indore,” claimed another proud Indorean, Tarak.
“Yes, this is the attitude of the people. Attitude makes the difference,” added Mrs Ahluwalia.
Bhopal Vs Indore
Bhopal is located barely four hours away from Indore. Though the attitude of people in Bhopal is quite enterprising too, Bhopal is not what Madhya Pradesh showcases.
It has the lake, the Taj Ul Masjid. It also has McDonalds and yet Bhopal still has a lot of catching up to do with Indore.
There are the new-age-economy-entrepreneurs in the city. It is a business that is a complete anti thesis of what the Sangh dominated version of Hindutva stands for.
Fashion designers, for example find it a city fraught with problems.
“There are so many problems. We want to do something for this city. But then we need fashion people. People say there are a lot of institutes there is lot of education but what is the standard of education? What do you do with just education? Once your educated what is you're mental level,” challenged Mumtaz.
Bhopal feels let down by top political parties
The biggest problem is roads. Indore is well connected to Bombay by road. People travel by road, but people avoid traveling from Bhopal to Indore. If one takes the road journey from Indore to Bhopal, he finds it’s very tiring, said a citizen. That's why people come to Indore but they don’t come to Bhopal.
Twenty-four year ago, an industrial accident that leaked poisonous gas over the city had killed hundreds of thousands and maimed many. But the locals say that neither the BJP nor Congress did anything for them.
"Humei 24 saal ke faaslei mei yeh mehsoos nahi hua ki congress bhi aayi BJP bhi aayi. Aur har tarike se sarkarein bani magar ek pal ke liye kisine palat kar bhi nahi dekha (In all these 24 years both the BJP and Congress formed their government in the state but neither of them tried to do anything for the victims of those of that incident),” says Hazra Bi.
Can this hopelessness create a space for an alternative political space in a largely Congress and BJP bastion?
The mood of the electorate seems to have left a crack open for who they feel may genuinely care about people’s issues. Will any party take advantage of that? Who slips in through the crack is yet to be seen.
Indore News, November 2008 from NDTV
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