Punjab faces the challenge in 2022 to make the right choice to take these dynamic people to the higher orbit in consonance with globalisation

 

2022 poses challenge to Punjab to make the right choice for next 5 years

 

Ground Zero

Jagtar Singh

The tumultuous year 2021 that ended yesterday was unprecedented in the recent history of Punjab.

The year witnessed intense struggle for survival by the Punjab led farmers that in fact was the fight for the very survival of this agrarian border state at one level as its socio-economy would have undergone major turmoil in case the farm laws thrust on the farmers had come to stay. This was the first major battle won by the people of Punjab although its contours had broadened over the period.

This is  one peoples’ struggle that maintained distance from all shades of political formations.

However, this struggle not only impacted the second oldest political party in the country and the oldest Punjab origin political party but also triggered major political changes in the political domain. The Shiromani Akali Dal not only came out of the Narendra Modi government but also ended about a quarter of a century old alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Significantly, the Shiromani Akali Dal is the party that has been rooted in the Panth and the peasantry and it is the peasantry that had always made the major contribution to every struggle launched by this party ever since its origin in 1920.

The break up this alliance over the period has led to emergence of new permutations and combinations. The Akali Dal later opted for the Bahujan Samaj Party to replace BJP as its alliance partner.

Yet another key change witnessed in 2021 was the replacement of once all powerful Congress leader  Capt Amarinder Singh by a low profile Charanjit Singh Channi as the Chief Minister who today presented his report card on the completion of 100 days in office to blunt anti-incumbency of the Congress government during four and a half years of non-performance. The Congress is now subjected to intense factional fight with its state party chief dictating the central leadership to anoint him as the chief ministerial face that is being opposed by a major section from within.

The choice with Punjab this time is wide open with two new formations having come up this time making the contest 5-cornered. These formations are the BJP-Capt Amarinder Singh-Dhindsa faction and the Sanyukat Samaj Morcha formed by a section of the farmer organisations.

The issue is what 2022 holds in store for Punjab to dictate the choice.

The Shiromani Akali Dal that was the ruling party in alliance with the BJP from 2007-2017, being the second oldest party, carry both historical baggage and historical advantage. The cadre of the party has by and large remained intact even after humiliating defeat in 2017 that relegated it to the third position in the Assembly yielding space of main opposition to the Aam Aadmi Party. However, this dimension did not affect its functioning and performance as the opposition. The party is identified with historical struggles and hance knows as to how to function as the opposition even under the worst situation. This party continues to hegemonise Sikh religio-political domain through the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee that is the elected body of the Sikhs.

The AAP collapsed under its own weight and its strength in the Assembly stands reduced from 20 to 11 MLAs that in itself is its major failing. The party failed to perform as effective opposition. Its convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is now selling his Delhi Model in Punjab that already stands partly hijacked by the Channi government.

The BJP led alliance is perceived to target mainly the Congress. The BJP in 2017 had indirectly supported Capt Amarinder Singh to block AAP. Significantly, the BJP had not supported the Congress as such but had worked out understanding only with Capt Amarinder Singh. This understanding had been arrived at directly between Home Minister Amit Shah and Capt Amarinder Singh. It is not without reason that Capt Amarinder Singh had been coming to the rescue of the Modi government at times. The BJP has been trying to win over some Sikh faces but its only major success has been Manjinder Singh Sirsa who had already been a BJP MLA besides being president of the Delhi Sijh Gurdwara Management Committee. He was already following the Sangh Parivar agenda but was overlooked as the Akali Dal was in alliance with the BJP.

The farmers political formation is a new experiment but the set up that is needed to contest elections is different from the one that is needed to launch struggles. The farmers’ formation is yet to work out its election strategy and back up.

The challenge before Punjab is to make the right choice  from these very formations.

The issue in Punjab is not what these parties offer as that is only one part of the story.

The basic issue is that of creating new narrative in consonance with the changing global dynamics.

This narrative must relate to Punjab’s political economy and socio-religious dynamics.