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Chandigarh MC polls: After repeal of farm laws, BJP hopes to regain lost ground
There are a total of 22 villages under the Chandigarh MC’s jurisdiction. Most of the villages like Khuda Lahora, Khuda Jassu, Kajheri, Palsora,have a strong base of farm families. It is to be seen which way the voters will sway in the upcoming Chandigarh MC polls
With Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) elections inching closer, the opposition parties, including the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), are banking on the remnants of an anti-BJP sentiment that stemmed from the farmer agitation, to sway votes of the population residing in city villages in their favour.
With the agitation now withdrawn, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is also keen on regaining lost ground with the city’s rural demographic, which accounts for around 1.25 lakh votes.
There are a total of 22 villages under the civic body’s jurisdiction, of which 13 were added recently, making for first-time voters, heading into the December 24-election. The 1.25-lakh-strong demographic is expected to be the deciding factor in around 12 out of the total 35 wards.
‘Farmers still angry at BJP’
Claiming that the farmers are still angry with the BJP’s handling of the agitation, Pardeep Chhabra, co-in-charge of the AAP’s UT unit, said, “It took the BJP government more than a year to heed to the justified demands of the farmer community.”
“For that long the farmers had to suffer hard and many of them even died. Now, when the BJP has withdrawn these laws, it is only because of an eye on elections due in several farmer dominated states,” he added.
Notably, the city saw several protests and regular sit-ins, including those in villages, for a vast majority of the agitation’s entire duration. The BJP workers faced strong opposition from protestors in various villages on multiple occasions, at times even being denied entry.
Instances of physical altercations involving protesting villagers and party functionaries were also reported. In one such incident reported from Sector 26, the car carrying mayor Ravi Kant Sharma and senior BJP leader Sanjay Tandon was attacked with iron-rod-wielding protestors.
Kisan leaders sceptic of BJP’s prospects
Surinder Kaur, a member of the AAP from Khuda Lahora, who has a long-standing association with the farmer agitation, said that while the protests against the BJP leaders have mellowed since the withdrawal of the contentious farm laws, it will still be difficult for the party to win over rural voters.
A former BJP national Kisan Morcha member and two-time Daria sarpanch, Gurpreet Singh Happy, said, “If BJP thinks that withdrawing the farm laws would pacify the farmers then it is making a grave mistake.”
Having turned dissident after not getting a party ticket, Happy, highlighted the sizeable population with a farming background that reside in city villages. He said, “Most of the villages like Khuda Lahora, Khuda Jassu, Kajheri, Palsora, there is a strong base of families associated with farming. These are the original inhabitants and many still have agricultural land within the city and neighbouring areas.”
BJP puts money on withdrawal move
The BJP local leadership, meanwhile, continue to back their earlier stance suggesting that Narendra Modi government’s decision to withdraw the farm laws has helped close the chapter on the entire issue.
“The government has not only withdrawn the laws but has also accepted other demands of the farmers. The farm laws were brought for the farmers’ welfare and withdrawn for the nation’s good. We will now see greater support for the party in the village among the farmer community,” Arun Sood, president of the party’s UT unit, said.
Accusing the opposition parties of “instigating” farmers for political gains, Sood said, “It is the Congress and AAP who can’t take on the BJP directly who are even now trying to instigate farmers against the party. They are even camouflaging themselves as farmers to perpetuate such non-existing anger.”
