Whereas Vijay runs the salon, which was arrange by their father, Vinod juggles barbering together with his position as state in-charge of the Congress’ Kesh Kala Shilpi Prakosht, or barber committee.
“Any particular person visiting a barber spends a minimum of 20 to half-hour there,” mentioned Vinod. “They learn newspapers, reply calls, scroll by means of social media and infrequently debate politics and social points. We’re working as pracharaks to unfold the phrase of the occasion,” he added.
The Kesh Kala Shilpi Prakosht is considered one of 42 committees arrange by the Congress Madhya Pradesh unit, underneath chief Kamal Nath, to tailor their outreach to the wants of various teams — from communities to professions in addition to these with a sure grievance towards the federal government.
These embody particular person teams for jhuggi-jhopdi residents (slum-dwellers), khadi evam gram udyog (khadi and village enterprises), physician evam chikitsa (medical doctors and medication), bunkar (weavers), dharma evam utsav (faith and festivals), bijli samasya nivaran (decision of electrical energy troubles), mandir pujari (temple clergymen), pan utpadan evam vyavasay (pan manufacturing and enterprise), and mechanic evam kamgaar (mechanics and labourers).
The community-specific committees embody these for Gummakar Ardh Gummakar, Baghel-Pal, Banjara, Bengali and Rajak.
Senior Congress chief J.P. Dhanopia serves because the convenor for these committees, and the occasion holds common conferences with these panels.
Talking to ThePrint, a Congress chief mentioned 13 of the prakosht — resembling those for jhuggi-jhopdi residents and medical doctors — have been created in 2018.
However the outreach course of gained momentum after the collapse of the federal government in 2020, the chief added, referring to the riot led by former Congress chief Jyotiraditya Scindia that brought on the Kamal Nath authorities to break down.
In response to the chief, among the prakosht — together with mechanic-labourer and Baghel-Pal — have been created as lately as 5 months in the past.
Congress state chief Kamal Nath advised ThePrint that “the thought is to achieve out to all communities or sections of society that don’t straight come to your rallies”.
“Whether or not or not it’s medical doctors, grazers neighborhood, pujaris and others,” he added.
“Via these committees, the Congress is reaching out to completely different sections of society to grasp their challenges, grievances, and connecting them to the occasion and its varied initiatives.”
The occasion’s push in the direction of this outreach strategy comes at a time when the Congress and the BJP are combating for slim margins in what is anticipated to be a detailed contest.
Within the 2018 meeting polls, the voteshare distinction between the events was nearly 0.1 p.c, with the Congress securing 40.89 p.c towards the BJP’s 41.02 p.c.
The Congress’ share of seats was simply 5 extra within the 230-member meeting.
Additionally Learn: BJP targets 51% votes in MP in 2023, already engaged on ‘tech-driven’ micro-plans at sales space degree
What these committees do
Every of those Congress committees has its temporary and goal reduce out.
Arrange in 2021, the Kesh Kala Shilpi Prakosht, with round 5,000 members, serves as a platform for elevating points associated to the welfare and rights of the Sain neighborhood, resembling its demand to be recognised among the many Scheduled Castes as a substitute of Different Backward Lessons (OBC).
The Swatantrata Sangram Senani Parivar Prakosht has been tasked with tracing the households of freedom fighters to facilitate their recognition as ‘rashtra parivar’ to honour their sacrifices.
The Baghel-Pal Prakosht is busy uniting members of the neighborhood — primarily comprising grazers — to demand larger illustration in native governance.
The mechanic prakosht, headed by Arbaz Khan, is demanding a delegated market the place members of the occupation can have satisfactory house to park under-repair automobiles.
“After we started reaching out to the mechanics within the state, we realised that they particularly confronted challenges in cities like Bhopal for house,” mentioned Khan. “They need some house designated close to squares, the place they’ll work with out being harassed.”
The Jhuggi-Jhopdi Prakosht is combating for the rights of the slum-dwellers being evacuated for ongoing Metro and highway building work in Bhopal.
“When the federal government doesn’t settle for our calls for, we work with particular person MLAs to get some grant from their MLA fund for the welfare of slum-dwellers,” mentioned Nikesh Chauhan, state in-charge for the prakosht.
Whereas working for slum-dwellers, he added, Congress staff additionally attain out to ladies from the neighborhood and clarify to them the Congress’ promise of offering LPG cylinders for Rs 500.
The Dharm Evam Utsav Prakosht has been organising programmes resembling ‘kathavachans (discourse classes)’ and bhajan recitals with distinguished seers and singers from throughout India.
Whereas a few of these committees additionally unfold the occasion’s phrase to prospects — like Vinod Sen of the barber prakosht, and members of the pan utpadan and slum-dweller committees — others tackle the BJP authorities.
Amid the continued monsoon session of the meeting, the Mandir Pujari Prakosht held a protest and picketed the Vidhan Sabha to protest towards the Chouhan authorities’s “anti-pujari and anti-temple insurance policies”.
“It was not simply the Congress [supporting us]. We acquired letters of help from pujari communities throughout MP,” mentioned Shivnarayan Sharma, who heads the Mandir Pujari Prakosht.
“We have been additionally supported by Brahmins and people from the Goswami neighborhood,” he added.
The committees have been tasked with forming district-level panels. Some have gone a step additional — the ‘Physician Evam Chikkitsa Prakosht’, for one, has wings on the block and ward degree too.
‘Potential dividends unclear but’
Throughout an occasion organised by the Kesh Kala Shilpi Prakosht in April, Nath — referring to the Sains’ demand for SC standing — requested the members to simply “wait till the elections are over”. The announcement elicited loud jai-jai-kars.
J.P. Dhanopia, the prakosht convenor, mentioned “persons are sad with the state and thru these prakosht they’re feeling heard and are popping out in help for the Congress in massive numbers”.
Jaishreeram Baghel, the state in-charge of the Baghel-Pal Prakosht, mentioned the neighborhood has massive numbers within the Gwalior-Chambal area and can give the occasion an edge.
“In the course of the native physique elections in July 2o22, Kamal Nath supported many individuals from the Pal neighborhood who contested the janpad elections and likewise gained. The neighborhood has come out to help the Congress,” he added.
The calls for raised by the assorted prakosht are being deliberated upon, and a few can be included within the Congress manifesto, mentioned a Congress chief.
Via this train, the Congress, which has been out of energy for near 20 years (however for the 2018-2020 interval), is rebuilding its organisation proper to the ward degree, mentioned one other Congress chief.
Professor Yatindra Sisodia, Director on the Ujjain-based Madhya Pradesh Institute of Social Science Analysis, mentioned that, in creating the prakosht, the Congress is replicating the concepts of the BJP to seize the aspirations of those communities.
“It was the BJP that will maintain sammelans of barbers and hearken to their issues,” he added. “With the Congress adopting this technique, the occasion doesn’t need to depart any stone unturned.”
Sisodia mentioned it by no means occurs that a whole neighborhood votes in a single route for any explicit occasion.
“It’s principally an try of the Congress occasion to swing as many votes as they’ll,” he added. “However it might be untimely to establish the dividends such a transfer can pay for the Congress. It didn’t at all times go in favour of the BJP both.”
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
Additionally Learn: Withdrawal of protest circumstances, free energy for farmers if Congress involves energy in MP, says Kamal Nath
