Outlook’s Rakhi Bose talked to Tribal Christian leader and activist Fulsingh Kachlam, who is contesting elections in the controversial Narayanpur assembly constituency in Bastar, Chhatisgarh. The district has seen persistent communal tensions between Christian tribal and Indigenous/Hindu tribal communities for over a year now and several tribal Christian families have been forced to leave their homes.
Kachlam, who is contesting on a Communist Party of India ticket, is likely to attract votes from the tribal Christian community which is currently discontent with BJP and alienated from the ruling Congress. Many feel that the BJP is responsible for politicising tribal identity, while they also blame the Bhupesh Baghel government for not addressing the communal issue on time.