By Express News Service
BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh capital of Bhopal will host Prime Minister Narendra Modi in two grand events on Monday. First is the unveiling of the country’s first world-class railway station — Rani Kamlapati Junction (formerly named Habibganj) — and second is addressing the Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas to mark the birth anniversary of tribal icon and freedom fighter Birsa Munda.
The twin events are seen as a major move by BJP to win back the crucial Scheduled Tribe votes, which did not go to the BJP in the last Assembly polls in MP and also in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. Other than celebrating Munda, the move to rename the station after a tribal queen shows how keen the BJP is on these votes. According to BJP sources, more than three lakh tribal people from across the state are likely to attend the Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas event at Jamboree Maidan.
Enthused by its recent success in by-elections in the Jobat-ST Assembly seat and tribal-dominated Khandwa Lok Sabha seat, BJP is focusing on a series of tribal-centric initiatives. The PM will launch the ‘Ration Aapke Gram’ scheme aimed at delivering ration to beneficiaries from the tribal community in their villages every month, so that they don’t have to travel far.
He will also hand over genetic counselling cards to beneficiaries, marking the launch of the Madhya Pradesh Sickle Cell (Hemoglobinopathy) Mission. The Mission has been developed to screen and manage patients suffering from sickle cell anaemia, Thalassemia and other Hemoglobinopathies, whose impact is seen to be more profound on the tribal community of Madhya Pradesh. He will also visit an exhibition of products made by tribal self-help groups and a photo exhibition of martyrs and heroes of the freedom struggle from the tribal community of Madhya Pradesh.
The tribal community forms around 22% of Madhya Pradesh’s population. Out of 230 Assembly seats, 84 are influenced significantly by tribal voters, among which 47 seats are tribal reserved seats.