In Madhya Pradesh, village of man at centre of urination row has a Peepli Live moment

Revenue officials sitting with laptops and maps, supervising the construction of a house; a police team keeping a close eye on every visitor; and politicians making a beeline — these are the scenes playing out in Karaundi village in Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi district, at the residence of Dashmat Rawat.It was on July 4 that Rawat (40), a member of the Kol tribe, was catapulted from obscurity into the middle of a political firestorm after a video emerged showing Pravesh Shukla (30) urinating on 

Since then, the Congress has tried to chip away at BJP strongholds among the Kol tribe voters in Vindhya Pradesh region, by alleging that Shukla was an associate of Sidhi MLA Kedarnath Shukla — a charge the legislator denied. On July 6, ChiefThe tribal communities, including Bhil, Bhilala, Gond, Korku, Baiga, Saharia, Kol and Bharia, constitute over 21 per cent of the voters in Madhya Pradesh, which has 230 Assembly constituencies. Out of these, 84 are tribal-dominated constituencies, with 47 seats reserved for ST candidates.

Pravesh's shameful act has not only given the opposition Congress an opportunity to corner the BJP over 'atrocities' against people belonging to SC/ST communities, but also a chance to present itself as the 'sympathiser' of the downtrodden communities in the poll-bound state.

Notably, the victim - Dasmat Rawat - belongs to the Kol tribe, which comes under the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category, and is the largest tribal group in the Vindhya region comprising seven districts -- Satna, Sidhi, Singrauli, Sidhi, Umaria, Shahdol and Anuppur.