As the Lok Sabha Elections approach and campaigning pick up steam, reports of candidates and leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its erstwhile ally Jananayak Janata Party (JJP) facing protests from farmers, have been reported in several constituencies of Haryana, including Sirsa, Hisar, Rohtak, Sonepat and others in the last few days.
As the BJP candidates and leaders are now engaged in election campaigns and reaching out to the voters in villages and cities, the agitated farmers too have opened the front against the saffron party and started protesting against its leaders. In several areas, agitating farmers have barred the entry of BJP leaders in some villages.
It is not only the BJP leaders who are facing such anger — leaders of JJP too, are bearing the brunt of it. Former Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala was recently stopped by farmers from entering Nara village in Hisar district. Villagers questioned him why farmers protesting for a legal guarantee of MSP on all crops were stopped from going to Delhi when he was in power.
Weighing in on the fresh farmers' protests that have emerged as a big political talking point going into the Lok Sabha elections, Haryana Cabinet Minister Kanwar Pal Gujjar said that few politically motivated persons are protesting against BJP leaders. They are not farmers. BJP leaders are being welcomed by the people in villages and cities across the State. Everyone should have faith in the democratic process. They should cast the vote in the favour of any contesting candidates. Politically motivated protests should not be allowed, he added.
Gujjar said, “Our government, over the last two terms, made many decisions for the benefit and welfare of farmers. Our government has always stood with the farmers. We believe farmers will not be misled and will vote in our favour.”
Another State Cabinet Minister Mool Chand Sharma said that BJP has done a lot of work for the welfare of the farmers in the State. Haryana is the first state in the country to purchase 14 crops on the Minimum Support Price (MSP). Haryana Government is purchasing wheat, mustard, barley, gram, paddy, maize, bajra, cotton, sunflower, moong, peanut, tur, urad and sesame on MSP at present. Most States purchase a few popular crops like wheat, paddy, Cotton and sugarcane on MSP. Additionally, after carrying out assessment of crop loss due to unseasonal rain and hailstorm, farmers are being compensated and money is being transferred into their bank account directly. “There should not be anger among the farmers for the BJP leaders as our government has launched several schemes benefiting the farmers,” he added.
On April 7 this year, BJP Lok Sabha candidates Arvind Kumar Sharma in Rohtak and Mohan Lal Badoli in Sonipat faced opposition from farmer unions while campaigning. Badoli was shown black flags at Rohana village of Sonipat. It is learnt that farmer unionist Ved Prakash Gopalpur’s group also blocked his way to an event at the village Chaupal but cleared it after Badoli’s supporters and local residents intervened. Badoli, MLA from Rai, had earlier faced opposition during his campaigning at Nandgarh in Jind district. Additionally, slogans were raised against Arvind Sharma when he reached Samain village in the Meham block of Rohtak to attend an event.
Around a week ago, the BJP candidate from Hisar seat, Ranjit Singh Chautala, had to leave an election-related meeting midway and cancel another election-related event after he was confronted by a group of farmers who questioned him over the central and Haryana governments’ actions against protesting farm unions. Chautala was chairing a meeting in Shamsukh when farmers under the banner of "Pagri Sambhal Jatta Kisan Sangharsh Samiti" reached the spot and started questioning him. The BJP candidate left the meeting and proceeded to Kuleri village. There too, farmers reached the spot and the event had to be cancelled.
Political analysts feel that the BJP's concern stems from the fact that the farmers have barred the entry of its leaders in some villages. The farmers’ stir has added an element of uncertainty to a host of party plans. If the agitation prolongs, it could impact the party’s prospects in the upcoming parliamentary elections, especially in the rural areas where the party had started to make inroads. Farmers believe that there has been no follow-up to the promises made to the farmers at the time of the withdrawal of three farm laws, they added.
