Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address a convention on first-ever 'Adivasi Gaurav Diwas' (Tribal Pride Day) in Bhopal on November 15, during which he is expected to announce 15 developmental schemes for the tribal community.
Celebrating the birth anniversary of tribal leader Birsa Munda undoubtedly has political meaning, especially in Madhya Pradesh where 47 out of 230 Assembly seats are reserved for the Tribal community, say political analysts.
Preparations are in full swing for the celebration and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has called a meeting on Monday evening to review the arrangements.
With this mega event, the BJP will try to strengthen its reach in the tribal community.
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Talking to IANS, prominent tribal leader in the state Bisahulal Singh said: "Adivasi Gaurav Diwas will be celebrated in India for the first time after Independence. Every year on the birthday of Bisra Munda, several programmes were organised, but those were mainly Adivasi Sammelans. We are happy that it is beginning from Madhya Pradesh."
Bisahulal, who is Food and Civil Supplies Minister in the Shivraj Singh cabinet, said the state government has made some changes in the forest scheme wherein people of tribal community will be given priority.
"Under the new scheme which is to be announced during the event, the community will be given priority for protection of forest land, selling of woods, among others. Apart from it, all sand mining areas located in tribal majority areas will be given to Adivasi people to run their business," Bisahulal added.
He further stated that 47 Assembly seats reserved for ST directly or indirectly affects around 100 more constituencies in the state.
Replying to how 'Adivasi Gaurav Divas' is going to help the BJP in the next Assembly elections in 2023, Bisahulal said, "I have been in politics from 1980 and therefore I can say that the party winning maximum ST seats forms the government. In the last elections (2018), Congress had won 31 Tribal dominated seats and the BJP was limited to 15-16 seats, that was the reason Congress could form the government."
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Meanwhile, Bisahulal, who has been associated with the Congress for years and joined the BJP with Jyotiraditya Scindia, said that tribal people were close supporters of the Congress, but they did not get anything in return in the last 70 years.
