Farmers Movement Archive

‘Palaayan’, sports won’t help BJP in West UP: Observers

Will issues of ‘Palaayan’ (escaping to save life) and pleasing youngsters by promoting an atmosphere of sports help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) counter the farmers’ movement in western UP during the forthcoming Assembly election in the state?That’s the speculation doing rounds in the political corridors of western UP, where farmers are protesting against the three contentious farm bills for the past 11 months, under the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU).During his visit to Kairana of Shamli district on November 8, chief minister Yogi Adityanath made an attempt to revive the issue of ‘Palaayan’ by meeting family members of those traders who had left the town and later returned. He also met family members of three traders who were killed in broad daylight by henchmen of Furqan and Mukeem Kala, in August 2014.Moving a step further, the CM announced financial assistance to the families of victims and assured them full support of the state government in providing security. “It was a matter of our pride and dignity”, he said while referring to the issue of ‘Palaayan’ and claimed that the situation turned during BJP’s rule and people returned to their home after criminals were dealt with.Home minister Amit Shah had also mentioned the issue of ‘Palaayan’ during his recent visit to Lucknow.BJP leader and the then MP from Kairana, Hukum Singh, had raised the issue of ‘Palaayan’ in 2016 and released a list of 340 families that had allegedly left Kairana town. The issue, however, became debatable when many families mentioned in the list denied leaving the town to an investigation team constituted by the then SP government and local administration.Political analyst Jamshed Zaidi explains that a few families left Kairana because of fear of criminal gangs and later Hukum Singh too realised it. “It was wrongly hyped as an ‘exodus’ which people themselves quelled by ensuring the defeat of Mriganka Singh in the 2017 Assembly election”, said Zaidi. Mriganka Singh is the daughter of Hukum Singh, who contested the Assembly election from Kairana in 2017 but lost to her rival SP candidate, Nahid Hasan.Later, in the 2018 Lok Sabha election, BJP fielded Pradeep Choudhary in Kairana constituency in place of Mriganka Singh, who wanted to contest on her father’s seat after his demise.Zaidi claims that under such circumstances ‘Palaayan’ won’t be a substantial issue for BJP to win elections but the party still wanted to try this earlier trusted issue for polarisation of votes. He believes that the farmers’ movement is now too deep-rooted and issues like ‘Palaayan’ won’t be able to either dilute or counter it in western UP. “Farmers are facing multiple issues of pending payment of sugarcane, demand to legalise MSP, withdrawal of three farm bills, high tariff of electricity, spiralling price of diesel, pesticides, fertilisers etc. Therefore issues like ‘Palaayan’ won’t be able to distract them,” Zaidi said.BJP’s Vyapaar Prakosth state convenor Vineet Sharda has different views on the issues. He said that why “should we think of countering the farmers’ movement. Farmers are our soul and the BJP government has done everything possible for their welfare.” He claimed that the BJP will form the government in the state with a thumping victory in the forthcoming elections.Samajwadi Party’s district president in Meerut, Rajpal Singh, however, said that they (BJP) has picked up the issue of ‘Palaayan’ again to divide people on the lines of religion ahead of the election with a motive to counter the effect of farmers’ movement in western UP. “They will not succeed in their wicked move to divide people,” Singh said.Western UP is also known for its affection for sports and it has produced many players of national and international repute. CM Yogi Adityanath felicitated medal winners of the Tokyo Paralympics in a grand function in Meerut on Thursday and distributed cash prizes to the tune of ₹32.50 crore to different medallists and those who represented the country in the Paralympics.During his address, Yogi shared the state’s new sports policy and how infrastructure is being developed to promote sports in the state.Leaders of rival parties opined that BJP’s declining popularity among youngsters in western UP might be behind the idea of projecting the party’s sports-friendly image by organising such a grand felicitation function to reach out sport-loving youngsters of the region.Rajpal Singh questioned inviting players of other states and giving them huge cash prizes from people’s tax money. “Their states should give them cash prizes and here they could be felicitated,” said Singh and described it a move of BJP to please youngsters. “But they might have forgotten that these youngsters are also sons and daughters of farmers whom the BJP has insulted and compelled to sit on the roads for over 11 months,” he said.BJP leader Vineet Sharda, however, said that sports has never been a political issue for BJP as it always believed in nurturing talent in sports and many sports schemes have been started to support and nurture sports in the country. “India bagged record medals at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics because the BJP governments support sports,” Singh claimed.Political analyst Zaidi, however, believes that people are facing multiple problems due to inflation and other issues and glorifying sports through a much hyped event won’t do much for BJP, which wants to lure youngsters by projecting its sport-loving image in a region where youngsters have great affection for sports.He explained that sports is a major medium of getting jobs in the region and a majority of youngsters believe that the ruling government has failed to fulfil its promise of providing jobs.The BJP had a spectacular victory in 2014 Lok Sabha elections in the region. Party candidates won all 14 Lok Sabha seats in 14 districts of Meerut, Saharanpur and Moradabad divisions after fierce riots in Muzaffarnagar in 2013. The party contested Assembly elections in 2017 under similar situations but it could manage victory of its candidates in 51 out of 71 constituencies of Meerut, Moradabad and Saharanpur divisions. RLD failed to woo voters on its home turf and managed to win only Chaprauli seat and the Congress won two seats in Saharanpur district.Under the changed circumstances, because of ongoing farmers’ movement it’s a tough challenge for BJP to retain its seats in western UP. Therefore, party leaders are looking for issues which could appeal to voters and help the party show its strength in western UP.

Hindustan Times

13-11-2021

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