The farmers’ protest in Delhi is shaping up to be an electoral challenge for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), particularly as seven states where resentment over new farm laws is growing are slated to hold assembly elections in the next two years. The states that plan to go to the polls in the next eighteen months are: West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu and Assam.
The government’s decision on farm laws, which farmers want to repeal, will have an impact on the elections. The issue is significant for the BJP because in most of the seven states, the party had performed considerably well in both the 2019 assembly and general elections. It won 96 seats in Lok Sabha out of 213 constituencies in these seven states.
“We had opposed all three bills when they were presented in Parliament and we had repeatedly called for parliamentary scrutiny. Now that farmers have intensified their protest in the national capital, the government’s own allies are raising doubts about it as well. We will continue to raise the issue whether in elections or otherwise. In fact, also in Punjab it was Rahul Gandhi who first led the protests against the Bills in October, “said a senior congressional lawmaker who requested anonymity.
Development is also crucial because it is the first time in the NDA’s second term that a political decision initiated by the Union government could become a rallying point in an election. The seven states are also crucial because while the BJP is trying to take center stage on the political stage in West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu alongside its alliance partners, the party wishes to retain its electoral and political dominance in Uttar Pradesh. , Uttarakhand and Assam. .
“The protests are an attempt by the opposition to divert farmers and people from the states against farm laws. We have argued that these laws would benefit farmers by obtaining remunerative prices, but there is a concerted attempt by opposition parties to use false information against the Union government and mislead farmers in the name of farm laws. The Union government is trying to explain to farmers that these laws would not threaten their livelihood, “said a senior BJP leader on condition of anonymity.
The decision on farm laws and the handling of protesting farmers would also affect BJP’s political and electoral prospects in Punjab, where the NDA lost its most trusted alliance partner, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), due to differences of opinion. on the farm. laws.
To further compound the BJP’s problems, its alliance partners in Haryana, the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) and Hanuman Beniwal’s Rashtriya Loktantrik Party in Rajasthan have also supported farmers and are now standing with opposition parties. against farm laws.
For opposition parties, the ongoing agricultural protests could be a key rallying point to unite on a platform against the political decisions of the Union government. An example of this was visible when almost all the main opposition parties, including regional parties, extended their support to the Bharat Bandh called by the farmers on Tuesday.
Interestingly, this includes political parties that are in power in states linked to the polls or that have key interests in the upcoming elections. Those who support the bandh include Congress, which has power in Punjab and is the main rival in Kerala and Assam, West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) party, the left-wing parties, seeking to return to power in Kerala, as well as Samajwadi. Party (SP) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which are key rivals in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu respectively.
The agricultural protests also had vocal support from the head of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Sharad Pawar, who warned the Center that if a resolution is not met soon, the protests could spread beyond the national capital. For its part, the Union government has held five rounds of talks with representatives of the agricultural unions led by the Union’s agriculture minister, Narendra Singh Tomar. Another round is scheduled for Wednesday, the day after the bandh, but what could compound the problems for the Center is that the call has been supported by unions and various other organizations.
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