Farmers Movement Archive

Punjab polls: BJP battling worst-ever crisis amid stand-off over farm laws

Heading a potent government at the Centre, the BJP in Punjab appears to be on a sticky wicket just months ahead of the assembly polls — thanks to the widespread anger among the agriculturists against the Centre’s three contentious farm laws. With farmer unions picking on party leaders across the state, the party’s activities have been confined to only certain urban pockets that too in the shadow of heavy security. Political thinkers say the BJP is fighting its worst-ever crisis in Punjab. Party insiders say the vehement opposition on the ground has demoralised the cadres to such an extent that many key Sikh faces of the party have quit. The biggest jolt to the state unit came when its firebrand leader from Amritsar, former minister Anil Joshi, along with other Hindu faces of the party, joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Joshi had criticised the BJP Central leadership for mishandling the farm agitation and was expelled. Insiders say murmurs of discontent within the party over the farm laws are still there and local leaders are hoping that the Centre resolves the issue before the polls. As an alliance partner of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for 33 years, the BJP used to contest on 23-Hindu dominated seats in the state. The SAD snapped the association with the BJP over the farm laws. In the 2017 assembly polls, the BJP could win only three seats but it wrested two of the three seats it fought in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Dalit CM strategy Senior state BJP leaders admit that the party has almost given up on support from the Jat-Sikh dominated peasantry and shifted focus on the Dalits who have around 32% vote share. The party picked its Ravidasia face from Dalit-dominated Doaba region, Vijay Sampla, and appointed him as the chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes with the rank of a Union minister. Another Dalit face of the party and Hoshiarpur MP, Som Parkash, is the Union minister of state for commerce and industry in the Modi cabinet. BJP leaders are of the opinion that since the support for the farmer agitation is mainly coming from Sikh pockets, by consolidating on the Dalit-Hindu (urban business community votes, Brahmins and Rajputs) votes, the party can emerge as the game-changer in the results keeping in view the multi-cornered contest on all seats. Also, the party leaders are convinced that the prolonged farm agitation marked by stray incidents of violence has upset a large number of voters from urban pockets, especially Hindus. “There is anguish over the way farmer unions have been given free hand to ‘ghero and maaro’. These pockets are also upset over the way Hindu thoughts have been abused and targeted by certain organisations leading the agitation,” a party general secretary claimed while requesting anonymity.

Hindustan Times

09-09-2021

Chandigarh