Why tribal leader Nandkumar Sai joining Congress is big catch for party

By Dolly Chingakham: Veteran tribal leader Nandkumar Sai joining Congress has sent shockwaves in the BJP. Sai, a former leader of the Opposition from the state BJP, has been actively raising his voice against conversion in Chhattisgarh. He was once considered a front-runner to be the chief minister of Chhattisgarh in the 2003 election, but the party chose Raman Singh as Sai lost to Ajit Jogi in 2003.

Let us have a look at who Nandkumar Sai is:

The 77-year-old tribal leader, Nandkumar Sai, is a three-term Lok Sabha MP and three-time MLA, who served as the BJP state president in both Chhattisgarh and undivided Madhya Pradesh, between the years 1997 and 2005.

The senior party leader, who hails from north Chhattisgarh, wields considerable influence in tribal-dominated parts of Surguja division of the state, and actively raised his voice against the conversion of tribals in the state.

Also Read | ‘Run party properly’: Veteran tribal leader Nand Kumar Sai quits BJP

Positions held by him:

• Sai was first elected as the Janata Party MLA in 1977 from Tapkara seat (now in Jashpur district) in Madhya Pradesh.
• In 1980, he was elected as the BJP’s Raigarh district unit chief, and held the post of BJP MLA from Tapkara in 1985 and 1998.
• He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Raigarh in 1989, 1996 and 2004, and the Rajya Sabha in 2009 and 2010.
• Sai was Chhattisgarh BJP president from 2003-05 and MP BJP chief from 1997 to 2000. He was the first leader of the opposition in the Chhattisgarh Assembly after the state was carved out from Madhya Pradesh in November 2000. Sai was appointed as the NCST chairperson in 2017.
• He served as a member of the Parliamentary standing committee on coal and steel and as a member of the Parliamentary consultative committee of the ministries of urban development and ministry of social justice and empowerment.
• The senior leader went on to be appointed as the chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes in 2017.
• Additionally, Sai has been actively involved in the spread of education in tribal areas, and as an ardent supporter of prohibition, has been at the forefront of various movements to oppose the exploitation of tribals and atrocities against them.
• When the Assembly elections were held for the first time in Chhattisgarh in 2003, Sai decided to contest against then Chief Minister Ajit Jogi from the Marwahi seat instead of his traditional seat, Tapkara. Though Sai tasted defeat, the BJP formed the government in the state. Sai has often grabbed the limelight for criticising various decisions of the previous 15-year-long Raman Singh-led BJP government in the state.

Also Read | Senior tribal leader and ex-BJP MP Nand Kumar Sai joins Congress in Chhattisgarh

Election profile:

Tribal population in Chhattisgarh:

ST Population: 78.23 lakh

Percentage of STs in the state to the total population of the state: 30.6%

Source: Census 2011, Office of the Registrar General, India

Tribal population voting trend in Chhattisgarh:

Vote share of Political Parties in the Tribal Dominated Districts of Chattisgarh in the past elections:

Vote share of Political Parties in the Tribal Districts of Chattisgarh in different elections along with their SC & ST Population:

Why is Nandkumar Sai important?

A prominent tribal face of the Congress from north Chhattisgarh, he has considerable influence in tribal-dominated parts of Surguja division (northern Chhattisgarh). He was close to BJP leader Lakhiram Agarwal and the two had played a crucial role in the establishment of the saffron party’s foothold in Chhattisgarh.

Sai’s resignation comes at a time when the opposition BJP is desperate to regain its foothold in the tribal areas of Surguja and Bastar where it had lost all the seats to the Congress in the 2018 assembly elections.

Sai was not only one of the tallest leaders in the state BJP in undivided Madhya Pradesh, he played a significant role in the party even after the formation of Chhattisgarh, leading a number of agitations against the Congress regime from November 2000 to December 2003.

Why is he a big catch for Congress?

The BJP was in disarray after Raman Singh lost the election. Amid a leadership crisis in the state BJP, nobody emerged as a strong leader to steer the state. Nandkumar Sai’s departure will be a big blow to the BJP with just months to go before the election in the state.

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