VC was confident of Cong victory in 2013 VS polls

Raipur, June 11, 2013

Senior Congress leader Vidya Charan Shukla was confident that his party would regain power in Chhattisgarh by defeating ruling BJP in upcoming assembly elections. 

To encourage the partymen, he had toured intensely across the state in past one and a half years. When the party decided to take out parivartan yatra in state, Shukla ensured to attend maximum public rallies. At 84, his energy was peer to that of young Congress workers. 

Reminiscing old times, almost 13 years back, when Chhattisgarh became state on November 1, 2000, large number of Congmen wanted to see Shukla as first chief minister of the newly formed state, for his contributions to the region. However, it could not happen as then Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijay Singh nominated Ajit Jogi’s name for the coveted post. It was said that Singh had advocated for Jogi due to his rivalry with Shukla.

With formation of new state, it was the beginning of new and bitter era for Chhattisgarh Congress as for the first time Shukla overtly expressed his angst after not being considered for CM post. Later, when Diggi reached Raipur and tried to meet Shukla, the latter’s supporters reportedly beat him. On that day, Shukla inadvertently made one more foe in Congress – Ajit Jogi. 

Since then, Shukla never desired for the post of Chhattisgarh CM. In fact, after that episode, Shukla defected to NCP in 2003 and then BJP in 2004, but eventually returned to Congress in 2007. This time, Shukla faced resistance from Jogi in the party who overtly expressed his reservations against the former. 

While stalemate between Shukla and Jogi continued, the former decided to go ahead to beef up the organisation instead of expanding his faction. His efforts helped him in evolving as a patron for party’s state unit. Soon, he won party supremo Sonia Gandhi’s trust – the most important achievement he had coveted for as his image had diminished in the party due to his defection to other parties a couple of times in past. 

He became more active in the organisation when Nandkumar Patel got baton of state unit. In past two years, he attended almost all the party meetings and tried to impart stability to the organisation while Jogi faction was gradually emerging as a solid threat for other senior leaders in the backdrop. 

The party that lost two assembly polls back-to-back due to infighting and emergence of several camps, suddenly witnessed a drastic change by end of years 2012 when only two factions were left – one belonged to Jogi and other to organisation itself that had host of senior leaders from Shukla, Patel, Motilal Vora, Ravindra Choubey, Charandas Mahant and others. 

The party was brimming with confidence and so was Shukla. When the party started its fourth phase of parivartan yatra in Bastar region, Shukla insisted to attend public rallies. 

Considering Shukla’s health, Patel himself asked the former to take rest and not to participate May 25-rallies in Sukma and Darbha, but the veteran leader persisted and fell prey to naxals when the yatra convoy was on way to Darbha.