He was just 19 when Naxalites killed his father, a former Salwa Judum leader. Defying the odds, he studied MBBS in Kyrgyzstan. Now, this man from a sleepy village in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bijapur district has entered the fray for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Meet Prakash Kumar Gota, an independent candidate from Scheduled-Tribe reserved Bastar Lok Sabha seat.
Though the polls in Bastar are primarily a contest between the BJP and Congress, Gota claims he holds sway over tribal youths in the region.
Talking to PTI, Gota said tribals constitute 32 per cent of the state's population, yet somehow, they have not been able to reap the benefits of development works and schemes.
“The two leading parties have always disappointed the people of Bastar, which is why I decided to enter the poll battle to bring real change in the region,” he said.
The 32-year-old member of the Muria tribe hails from Farsegarh village in Bijapur and is currently staying in a rented house in Jagdalpur, the headquarters of Bastar district, due to elections.
His father, Chinna Ram Gota, an active leader of Salwa Judum, an anti-Maoist civil militia disbanded in 2011, was shot dead by Naxalites at his farm in Kukrel village, around 2 km away from Farsegarh in 2012.
Maoists also killed his father’s older brother in a similar attack in 2013.
Gota said his father had worked with late Congress leader Mahendra Karma, popularly called ‘Bastar tiger’ for his tough stand against Naxalites during the Salwa Judum movement.
Karma was killed in the Jhiram valley Naxalite attack during the Congress's Parivartan Yatra in 2013.
"I was a first-year student at a nursing college when my father was murdered. I had to quit my studies midway as my family’s financial condition was not good. I have four brothers and two sisters. I am the second eldest. My mother is a housewife", Gota said.
Gota worked as a sub-contractor for construction works in the area and tendu leaf collection, and this helped him fund his medical studies in Kyrgyzstan.
“In 2016, I went to Kyrgyzstan for MBBS. I tried unsuccessfully to avail an education loan. The struggle continued as I had to return home during the COVID-19 pandemic due to my family’s financial condition,” he said.
Gota again worked as a subcontractor and managed to resume his medical studies in Kyrgyzstan and returned to India in June 2023 after completing his MBBS.
He has, however, not appeared for the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE) conducted by the National Board of Examination for eligibility to practice medicine in India.
“Another tragedy struck my family in August last year when Naxalites abducted my older brother Mahesh Kumar, who was the chief of the publicity wing of the BJP's Bijapur district unit,” he said.
Mahesh was later traced to a forest and admitted to a hospital in a critical condition. He has been in a coma ever since, he said.
Asked why he did not join the BJP like his brother, Gota said he did not want to be in politics and wanted to take up a job.
“There is a provision for a safe settlement and a government job under a rehabilitation scheme for victims of Maoist violence, but we did not get any of this. After all this, I was disappointed with the BJP and Congress,” he said.
Over the years, Bastar has become a Maoist stronghold due to large-scale poverty, illiteracy, and lack of health facilities and amenities, Gota said.
“My father contributed to the fight to free the region from the Naxalite menace, and I wanted to address all these issues to bring a change in Bastar,” he said, citing why he wanted to contest the elections.
However, Gota’s decision to enter the fray was sudden.
"When candidates had already started filing nominations for the first phase of the polls, my friends and social workers encouraged me to throw my hat in the ring," he said.
People have been voluntarily contributing to and providing vehicles for Gota’s campaign.
“I cannot spend money in electioneering like big parties. I have some savings that have come in handy," he said.
Gota exuded confidence about securing the support of the youth in the region.
"BJP nominee Mahesh Kashyap is a communal person and does not take all religions together, while the Congress's candidate Kawasi Lakhma is inactive. Both parties have ignored their dedicated workers and leaders while giving tickets,” he said.
Eleven Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh will go to polls in three phases on April 19, April 26 and May 7, and the counting of votes will take place on June 4.
Bastar will be the only seat to go to polls in the first phase.
The ruling BJP has fielded Kashyap, a fresh face who had been an active member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and the Congress has given the ticket to Lakhma, an MLA who has served as a minister in the previous Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government.
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