Shiromani Akali Dal identified with rural areas for years is only party directly impacted by farm struggle

 

  

Impact of return of victors from Delhi on Punjab polls to be visible in coming days

Ground Zero

Jagtar Singh

 

The impact of the return of the victors from Delhi on the political discourse in Punjab is likely to start emerging in the coming days as the campaign for February 2022 Assembly polls picks up momentum.

The only major party in Punjab  that directly felt the impact of the farmers struggle  at the early stage itself is the Shiromani Akali Dal,  the party that used to be the most entrenched in the peasantry and would be identified as the articulator of the concerns mainly of the rural Punjab. The Shiromani Akali Dal has been representing the Panth and the peasantry and it was perhaps this very reason that it felt the impact the most.

The Akali Dal broke its about a quarter century old alliance with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party within days of the adoption of the three farm bills in September 2020 that now stands withdrawn under intense pressure from the longest ever and the most peaceful struggle commanded by the Punjab farmers that turned pan-India over the period. Akali Dal representative in the Narendra Modi cabinet Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from her office the very day these bills were adopted with voice vote in the Lok Sabha without any discussion.

The BJP does not matter much in Punjab at its own.

This situation dictated another qualitative shift as the Akali Dal replaced the BJP with the Bahujan Samaj Party as its alliance partner.

The Akali Dal subsequently extended consistent logistical support to the farmers struggle the way the Akali agitations used to be conducted. Langar by the Sikh institutions has been among the most strategic support to sustain this struggle.

Interestingly, as the Fateh March began from Delhi to Punjab today, the most visible signs were the Sikh symbols that otherwise dominate the Akali political culture.

Of course, the Akali Dal miscalculated at the very first stage when these bills were promulgated through ordinance but all along, efforts have been to make up for that.

The Congress that is the ruling party in Punjab had no option but to oppose these bills as per the political culture despite the fact that this party too subscribes to the free market model in which these laws were rooted.

AAP government in Delhi notified one of the farm laws although it extended support to the farmers agitation. This party had replaced the Akali Dal as the main opposition in 2017 but nine of its 20 MLA subsequently defected.

Punjab polls would witness four stakeholders competing for political power in 2022 polls. Interestingly, Capt Amarinder Singh is the only leader who had his support base among the farmers in the state but that was not due to his being a Congress leader. However, now that he is former chief minister, he might not succeed in retaining his personal support base, mainly because of strong anti-incumbency. The Congress has its own support base of course.

Moreover, he has decided to join hands with the BJP, the party whose action triggered this agitation. The unprecedented victory has come at a heavy cost as more than 700 farmers have lost their lives ever since this agitation started, majority being from Punjab. Despite the BJP winning over some Sikh faces like former Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa, the farmers are least inclined to favour the BJP at the hustings. In neighbouring Haryana, the BJP government has registered cases about 48,000 farmers.

Punjab witnessed as another major shake up in the political discourse. For the first time, the chief minister is a Sikh from the marginalised section and not from the dominant social architecture.

The AAP is still to come up with a face to command its electoral battle. Party chief Arvind Kejriwal had earlier announced that the party face would be a Sikh.

The Congress choice of the chief minister, however, have upset all the calculations.

It is to be seen as to how the electoral discourse now shapes up after Punjab has scored a major victory although the struggle had turned all India.

Dilli Fateh is the slogan that today was the most visible as the victors started their march back to Punjab, Haryana and other states.