Political Bug Bites Punjab Farm Bodies
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2021-12-26 07:35:14
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22 farmers' organizations in Punjab, who were part of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) that spearheaded the year-long agitation against the new farms bills that led to their repeal, have announced their decision to form the Sanyukt Samaj Morcha (SSM), a political party that will fight for the rights of the farmers. They have also said that they will content the state elections in 2022 and put up candidates on all seats. The SKM, in order to preserve its apolitical nature, has immediately said that it has nothing to do with the new party and has also said that it will hold a meeting soon to decide whether the said 22 organizations can continue to be a part of the SKM.
This new party of farmers will disrupt the permutations and combinations in Punjab politics. If public sympathy for farmers in the largely agrarian state is anything to go by, SSM might find many who will vote for it. But in India, it is often seen that sympathy with a cause is totally different from electoral politics although Arvind Kejriwal had deftly managed to ride to power on the back of the popular support for "India Against Corruption" campaign. It remains to be seen how the SSM makes a dent in the vote banks of parties with much superior infrastructure, committed workers and better access to funds.
But one thing is sure. The Punjab elections will be fiercely contested and there will be many candidates on each seat. Apart from the local issues and the performance of the Congress government, farm laws will obviously be in focus. In such a scenario, most political parties will not want to ignore the threat posed by the SSM. The farmer bodies have shown that they have the capacity to launch a movement and sustain it for long periods. Hence, their advent into electoral politics is an interesting development and will be keenly watched.
