The Sanyukta Kisan Morcha’s (SKM) order banning election campaigning till the dates for the Punjab Assembly elections were formally announced has not gone down well with political parties, even as differences emerged among agricultural unions on the issue. are. The SKM had recently held an all-party meeting (except BJP) in which it directed political parties to refrain from campaigning as it would divert attention from the agrarian movement.
Opposition parties such as the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have expressed apprehensions that this may ultimately hamper their electoral prospects and benefit those parties that do not comply with the order.
Political parties are now citing the example of Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh starting their campaign with a flurry of inauguration in the Doaba region. The Chief Minister had claimed that these were government programs and not campaigns. “He is using government programs as cover to talk about his government achievements, which is nothing but a micro campaign,” said a senior SAD leader.
Interestingly, the decree has also stunned the Navjot Singh Sidhu-led Punjab Congress, which is yet to take a final call on the party’s plan to hold a political convention at Chhapar Mela in Dakha assembly constituency on September 20. Leaders of the Sidhu camp said that this decree seems to be working for the benefit of Captain Amarinder.
During the meeting of the three-member delegation of PPCC with the representatives of SKM, PPCC Working President Kuljeet Nagra and General Secretary (Organisation) Pargat Singh informed that this decree will disrupt the democratic process and will only benefit those protesting farmers. .
“It may be a government function but eventually MLAs and local leaders will attend. This will definitely give it a political tinge and hence the CM will benefit,’ alleged an MLA who was part of the Sidhu camp.
Sources reveal that some constituents had raised their objection to such a decree, which they agree could harm a political party. “There has to be a rethink. If the movement is to be coerced, the peasant leaders will have to take a political stand at some point.”
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