In Punjab, Dera, Drugs And Despair Dominate The Election Scene

On May 14, at noon, several BJP workers were waiting for Preneet Kaur in the sweltering May heat wearing saffron scarves. Kaur, a four-time MP from Patiala and wife of Captain Amarinder Singh, was suspended by the Congress last year. She recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the General Elections.

That day, ‘maharani sahiba’, as she is fondly called, was going to campaign in Patran, Patiala. When she arrived, everything seemed normal. Suddenly, 200-225 farmers entered the scene on tractors, trolleys and bikes. They were holding banners and waving green and black flags.

Shouting anti-BJP and anti-Kaur slogans, the protesters—including a few women—spilled over to the Jind-Patiala National Highway. Sensing trouble, the police rushed to give cover to the BJP workers. They even tried to convince the farmers to protest at a distance. The unrelenting farmers refused to budge; sloganeering continued over the portable mic system they were carrying.

“We are not stopping the candidate from campaigning. We just have some questions for Preneet ji,” farmer leader Amrik Singh told the police. “We want to know why Prime Minister Modi did not honour the promise he made to agitating farmers when he agreed to withdraw the three farm laws. Why our ‘Dilli Chalo’ march was cut short in February 2024 using repressive measures?” he asked.

This was not the first time in this election that a candidate was facing farmers’ ire. Across Punjab—from Malwa to the Majha belt and Doaba region—many BJP candidates were targeted.

In Amritsar, BJP’s Taranjit Singh Sandhu, a former diplomat, was targeted soon after his candidature was announced. He was shown black flags at Ajnala. Sitting BJP MP Hans Raj Hans, the popular Sufi singer contesting from Faridkot, was allegedly heckled by farmers.

Three-time Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, who recently joined the BJP and is contesting from Ludhiana, took to social media to express his anguish over roadblocks in campaigning. He even said that he had protested along with the farmers at Jantar Mantar against the three farm laws, but that did not help.

Sushil Kumar Rinku, who is contesting from Jalandhar (R) on a BJP ticket was targeted by the farmers thrice. Rinku was earlier with the Congress and has also won from Jalandhar on an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ticket.

Political experts say that the BJP never anticipated that farmers would react in such an extreme manner after their ‘Chalo Dilli’ movement was crushed. Since then, they have been stopping trains in Punjab, holding dharnas and boycotting the BJP candidates. They have been asserting that their drive will continue until the BJP remains at the Centre, or the new government gives a legal guarantee on MSP and accepts all other demands.

“They (the BJP government in Haryana) resorted to the worst possible ways to stop us from going to Delhi. They lathi-charged us, used tear gas and even pallet guns,” says Sarvan Pandher, leader of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee.

Amid the ongoing confrontations, Sunil Jakhar, Punjab’s BJP president has lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), C Sibin, accusing the AAP of not providing a conducive environment for “free and fair” campaigning. “The Congress and AAP are involved in this. Election is a democratic process. Let farmers express their views through ballots,” he said.

On some occasions, the protests have turned violent. In the first week of May, protesting farmer Surinder Singh, 61, who hailed from Akkar, died in the melee that ensued during their protest against Preneet Kaur’s visit to Sehra village. His wife Charanjit Kaur says he was pushed by a supporter when the scuffle broke out. “We want justice. My husband was a part of the protests at the Singhu border and later at Shambhu,” she says.

When asked about the BJP candidates being made a target, Preneet Kaur says: “The party has asked the Election Commission to direct the state government to deploy forces so that the BJP candidates can campaign. Once the government is formed at the Centre, we will take farmers along to find a lasting solution to their issues.”

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This is the first time that the BJP is contesting the Lok Sabha elections independently. Party leaders admit that the BJP does not have any organisational structure or cadres to fight the elections. They are hoping that the party will gradually evolve on its own by the 2027 Assembly elections.

Earlier, the BJP’s core vote bank was the urban voters, but now that it is fighting solo, it will need rural voters also. Until now, the party had banked on the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for rural voters. Even for the SAD—which is seeking revival through a focus on panthic agenda—the 2024 elections will be a test of strength.

“Badal sahib’s (Prakash Singh Badal) objective of joining hands with the BJP was not political. The larger objective was to have social harmony in Punjab,” says former Punjab bureaucrat B C Gupta. “Both parties were ideologically divergent, but they used to get their political strength from their respective religious identities—the BJP from Hinduism and the SAD from Sikh believes. They also had a separate base in urban and rural areas respectively,” he adds.

Going solo in this poll will mark SAD’s return to its core principles. Sukhbir Singh Badal, the SAD chief, has said that they are with the farmers and has demanded that all promises made to them should be met and Sikh detainees, who have completed their jail terms, should be released.

He wrote on social media: “Shiromani Akali Dal is not just a political party driven by number games, unlike some of the national parties. We are a 103-year-old movement with a clear vision. Our party stands by high principles and is committed to safeguarding Panth and Panjab”.

Campaigning at village Mour Kalan in Bathinda, Harsimrat Kaur Badal stressed on the need to strengthen regional parties against “Delhi” parties, which make false promises, play decisive politics and loot the state. “The parties whose high command is in Delhi can’t look after people in Punjab. Examples are the Congress, the AAP and the BJP. The Akalis are the sole representative of Sikhs and Punjabis,” she says.

Punjab’s election scene has taken a dynamic shift in terms of dominant poll issues, core politics and the emergence of AAP. Earlier, only two traditional players—Akali Dal-BJP on one hand and the Congress on the other—usually fought the poll. This time, it’s a multi-corner fight. The AAP is fighting multiple battles—anti-incumbency, allegations of corruption, dwindling law and order situation and disgruntled farmers.

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The entry of Khalistan sympathisers in the Punjab poll has added a new dimension in the political landscape. Prominent among them is the jailed ‘Waris Punjab De’ leader Amritpal Singh, who is contesting from Khadoor Sahib.

When asked to comment on this, Pal Singh Nauli, a Jalandhar-based journalist, recalls how in 1989 elections, eight or nine separatists got elected to the Parliament. “There are people in Punjab who support them, and they have their people propagating their ideologies,” he says.

Punjab is also known for defying the national voting pattern. This time, it is neither seeing any election wave nor any consolidation of voices, as both the Congress and the AAP are pitted against each other. There are no visible signs of regional parties, primarily the Akali Dal. The party had fought the 2019 Lok Sabha poll with its alliance partner—the BJP. Each had won two Lok Sabha seats.

The congress had won eight seats, bucking the country’s pro-Modi wave. But it lost power in 2022 despite the party making a significant move to make Charanjit Singh Channi, a Dalit face, the chief minister. Punjab has a 32 per cent of the Dalit population, the highest in any state of the country.

While Channi was campaigning at Kakar Kalan, 60 km from Jalandhar, he was asked to comment on why the Congress’ Dalit card did not work. He said: “The decision was taken very late. Secondly, the AAP made attractive promises. People got swayed by promises like Rs 1,000 per month to women and free power.”

Commenting on why the Channi experiment failed, Santosh Singh, faculty of sociology and dean, School of Liberal Studies at Ambedkar University in Delhi, says: “The Jatt Sikhs simply did not accept a Dalit CM. This, combined with internal fissures within the Dalits, tilted the political balance against Channi.”

He says Dalits are numerically significant, but they are fractured. The 32 per cent Dalits subsume some three dozen subgroups. The most dominant of them, like the Ravidasis and the Valmikis, for instance, are in competition with each other.

Talking about other parties, the BSP—it’s founder Kanshi Ram from Hoshiarpur—had a very promising start in Punjab but with time, the Kanshi Ram-Mayavati combine drifted away from Punjab and then they focused on UP. The Punjab Dalit mobilisation thus lost its anchor.

Kamal Kaler, 60, a Dalit who works at Jalandhar’s ‘Bootan Mandi’—a leading leather market—says he is a staunch BSP sympathiser and has been voting for the party irrespective of whether it wins or not. “The parties exploit our community. They use us as a vote bank. In every election, we get divided on political lines and end up voting differently. It’s sad that Kanshi Ram ji could not get community support in Punjab,” he says.

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As per Santosh Singh, another dimension of Punjab caste politics also has its roots in the Deras—thousands have mushroomed in Punjab over the years. These Deras have emerged as an important parallel counterforce to the established religio-cultural settings.

At Sachkhand, Ballan, a sprawling Dera 25 kms from Jalandhar, present head Sant Niranjan Dass says: “We welcome everyone. Leaders of all faiths and political affiliations come and seek blessings. We don’t make any distinction. We are solely committed to the path shown by our great gurus and do services for humanity and harmony.”

A senior functionary of the Dera, when asked about their role in elections, said: “We don’t support or oppose any party or leader. There is no such precedent created. Our followers are free to vote whosoever they wish to.”

Another popular Dera—Dera Sacha Sauda in Sirsa, headed by jailed Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, has a large influence and following in Haryana and Punjab. Till some years back, the Dera used to make an open appeal during the elections to vote for a particular candidate. Now, no such public announcements are made. Harcharan Singh, a functionary at Dera Sacha Sauda, said: “Sant Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh ji has abolished the political wing of the Dera which earlier used to parttake in such actions. Not anymore.”

Surajbhan, a senior journalist in Bathinda, who has been writing on Dera politics for a long time, says: “The Deras do send appeals, but they are discreet. Politicians keep visiting these Deras frequently; not out of faith but for political gains.”

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The border districts are particularly vulnerable where drugs are allegedly smuggled through air (drones), water (rivers) and land. Political parties have refused to take the blame for being soft on drug peddlers and drug lords, who often enjoy power political patronage. At her rally, Harsimrat Kaur Badal asked women to raise their hands if ‘Chitta’—the most dangerous heroine—existed during the Akali days. There is a network for home deliveries now. “It’s the creation of the Congress, now amplified by the AAP,” she alleges.

Bathinda-based Harjot Singh, 52, who lost his son, 29, to a drug overdose bursts into tears when asked about the loss. “All politicians render lip service to wipe-out drugs. They actually are behind it. Nearly 50 youths have died of drug overdose in my village alone. Now, even young girls are addicted.”

Ashwani Sharma in Patiala, Sangrur, Bathinda, Jalandhar

(This appeared in print as Dera, Drugs And Despair)