Farm leaders eyeing traditional parties` voters in Punjab Assembly elections

New Delhi: Over a year-long farmers struggle was a watershed movement leading to the fulfillment of political aspirations of a few over-ambitious farmer leaders who were looking for an opportunity to come to mainstream politics riding on the farmer's sentiments.

Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni) president Gurnam Singh Charunai has already launched his own political outfit Samyukat Sangarash Party (SSP) which, according to Charuni, would field candidates on all the 117 assembly constituencies of Punjab.

On the other hand, the remaining constituents of Samyukat Kisan Morcha (SKM) have already held a meeting at Samrala in the recent past in which 22 farm union representatives participated and contemplated on their future political course but didn’t announce any political outfit.

Vice President of Zamhuri Kisan Sabha, one of the 32 constituents of SKM Rattan Singh Randhawa told Zee News that there was a possibility of announcement of a political outfit in near future. “Another political outfit could come under the leadership of BKU (Rajewal) president Balbir Singh Rajewal,” he said.

Given the high stake 2022 battle of the ballot, the new political outfits, especially those launched by farmer groups, aim at the anti-incumbency sentiments. Sources didn’t rule out the possibility of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has nothing to lose in Punjab but only to gain, supporting the fringe parties.

But the moot question remains how these political parties will make their reach to the common man without having any political cadre and the finances required to meet the election expenditure which runs into crores of rupees for each assembly.

“There is hardly any likelihood of farm union leaders spending whatever funds they received during their agitation and no political financiers will bet on them. So, how they are going to arrange for the finances?” questioned sources.

The farmers here are celebrating their victory after making the BJP government repeal the three controversial farm laws and they even took out a victory march. But is it really farmers' victory or BJP’s?

A political analyst Sarchand Singh is of the view that farmers had not been able to make any amendments in the three farm bills which could have in real terms brought the much-needed agriculture reforms in the state.

He, however, opined that the farm struggle instead helped a few farm leaders to fulfill their political dreams which had now been exposed after they openly came into the political arena.

Be it SSP or any other new political outfit in making by the farmers, they will have to convey their message to the public and inform them about their ideology, agenda, and vision for which they would depend upon resources which they lack unless they are supported by some major political outfit.

Going by the mass base of farmers which can be their prospective vote bank, they largely depend on the Malwa region of Punjab than Majha and Doaba.

“Majority of farmers along with their families from Malwa had joined the struggle and stayed at the multiple borders of Delhi and certainly they will vote for us,” said a farmer leader aligned to SSP who didn’t wish to be named.

Sources informed that the traditional political parties were already halfway through their political campaigns and questioned how the farmers' outfit would even reach their vote bank.