Saja, Chhattisgarh

Saja
assembly constituency
Saja Location in Chhattisgarh, India Saja Saja (India)
Coordinates: 21.60°N 81.10°E / 21.60; 81.10
Country	India
State	Chhattisgarh
District	Bemetara
Languages
• Official	Hindi, Chhattisgarhi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registration	CG

Saja is an assembly constituency under Saja in Chhattisgarh, India.

Politics:

The seat came into existence in 1967 and has been an INC and Choubey family stronghold. Before Shri Ravindra Choubey, his elder brother Shri Pradeep Choubey and his mother Smt. Kumari Devi have also won from this seat.

Shri Ravindra Choubey has been elected 6 times from this seat, from 1985 till 2008 and is popularly known as Maharaj ji in the area.    

Current MLA: Ravindra Choubey (INC)

Shri Ravindra Choubey is a tall leader from the seat who had won since 1985, with the exception of 2013, where it is believed that Shri Ajit Jogi(former CM, Chhattisgarh) made focussed efforts to defeat Shri Ravindra Choubey, due to internal rift. The fundamental caste equation of the seat also tends to be in favour of the INC with major castes i.e. Sahus and Satnamis being more inclined towards INC and the other major caste Lodhis being traditional BJP supporters. Furthermore a poor image of sitting BJP MLA Shri Baphna makes this seat tough for BJP.

Demographics

OBCs and General comprise around 80% of the population, with OBCs in majority. Among OBCs, Lodhis are in majority, followed by Telis and then Kurmis. There are total 1.4 lakh voters in the constituency. There are two major tehsils Durg and Dhamdha and four nagar panchayats in the region- Deokar, Saja, Thankhamaria and Parpaudi nagar panchayat. Lodhis are majorly concentrated in Saja and Thankhamaria while OBCs are majorly in Saja and Deokar region

Community	Numbers	Remarks
OBC- Lodhis	35%	Spread throughout the AC, however, densely concentrated in Saja and Thankhamaria area.
OBC- Sahus, followed by Kurmis and Yadavs	30%	Majorly concentrated in Saja and Deokar region. Major leaders: Shri Tamradhwaj Sahu
SC- Satnamis	25%	Majorly in Saja and Parpaudi region
Gen, Others	10%	-

Key Political Issues

• Major resentment among the farming community as majority of them grow tomatoes and they have had to sell their produce at Rs. 1/kg. Lack of any agro processing plant, irregular distribution of Fasal Bima claims and drought-like situation has further added to their woes.
• No action against illegal sand mafia has been taken.  
• Lack of employment opportunities, clean drinking water and bad condition of roads are other major issues here.  

Cultural and Geographical view

Key Elements	Locations	Importance (Caste affiliation/ Focused group)
Major Landmarks	Shankarji Mandir, Sahaspur	Popularly visited by politicians
Cultural festivals
Colleges
Melas