Raja's citadel under siege

 Ten years is a long time in politics for grievances to accumulate. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, known locally as 'Diggi Raja', is at the receiving end of the wrath of the people.

 And they have collective memory about generations of Singh's royal family, which ruled this small picturesque kingdom (now Singh's assembly seat).

 In the course of his decade-long rule, Singh has been consistent in taking a politically correct stance which has endeared him to the electorate. His erstwhile royal stature has never been a reference point in the political debate.

 The Baratiya Janata Party is now determined to change this. By putting up an young, firebrand orator, who is the BJP general secretary, Shivraj Singh Chauhan against Singh, the terms of engagement in this town have changed.

 The Raja's citadel, perhaps for the first time, is under siege, if the electorate's mood is any indication. Chauhan, a backward class leader, has launched a frontal attack on Singh's feudal background.

 "Everything they've done, they've done for their fortress," comments a local in Raghogarh, a show of defiance against the feudal authority.

 There are reasons for the piled-up anger of the people against Singh and his family. Lakshman Singh (Singh's younger brother), known as 'Chote Raja', is known for his wayward behaviour in the entire region.

 Barely a few yards away from his fortress, a local was beaten up recently by goons owing loyalty to the feudal family.

 These incidents may have gone unnoticed, but for the growing sentiments against the government for non-performance.

 In Kachri village of the district, farmers have been sleepless for nights to protect their tubewell pipes.

 "We lost 40 pipes in one night to thieves," said Ram Singh, whose only job is to switch on the tubewell when power comes. "Power shows up rarely like Digvijay Singh," he says wryly.

 At Binaganj, a few kilometers from this village, at Binaganj Singh addressed a meeting on Monday and assured villagers that he was arranging for an additional 700 Mw of power to augment irrigation.

 "It is too late to make such promises and expect people to vote for him," says a farmer who had come all the way to attend meetings by two top contenders: Singh and the BJP's chief ministerial candidate Uma Bharti. Bharti could not reach in time because of a snag in her chopper.

 Driving from Bhopal to Raghogarh, a distance of nearly 170 km, one could easily see the effect of power shortage on the farmers. "We are not able to irrigate our land," says Motilal Yadav, a veteran Congress worker.

 He is deeply worried that he will be ruined if this situation is allowed to continue. "I have decide to vote the BJP this time," he adds.

 One could hear the echo of similar sentiments in Joharda village, adjoining Binaganj. That Singh seems to be running out of luck is evident by the fact that in the past one week, as many as 500-odd transformers were burnt out in Raghogarh because of overloading.

 "This is a conspiracy of the BJP," says the Congress leaders monitoring the election campaign. Even at his meeting at Binaganj, Singh cautioned farmers against overloading as it would add to the crisis.

 Singh's passionate appeal is cutting no ice with farmers. "Ten year is a long time to demonstrate performance" says Bane Singh who finds Singh's explanation of power scarcity unreasonable.

 What appears to have hit the Congress is the disenchantment of the upper castes and the OBCs, brought about by Singh's policy of distributing government land to the Dalits.

 In the past five year, Singh alienated himself from dominant castes, which had virtually usurped government land in rural areas.

 Though the scheme was commended by the liberals in Delhi and Mumbai, politically it has turned out to be counter-productive as it has resulted in challenging the hegemony of dominant castes in villages.

 The BJP has deftly used this division to widen its support base among the OBCs and upper castes.

 What appears to be a source of great comfort for Singh is the image of his rival, Uma Bharti, whose inconsistent behaviour is the most talked-about issue in the elections.

 "She is my younger sister, but she speaks in indecent language," Digvijay Singh says in most of his rallies, to hit the BJP where it hurts most.

 At the same time, Singh is finding it difficult to dispel his image of a "non-performer", which is getting more and more firmly entrenched in people's mind as the poll draws near.

 Singh's close confidants, who stand to lose if he loses, are also worried. They feel the chief minister, who believes "a day is a long time in politics," is sure to have all his aces in a safe place, his sleeve.