10 Weeks – In Between Returning from Delhi Border 11.12.2021 and Going to Polling Booths 20.02.2022 Millions will be waiting for the results of the elections to the five state assemblies out of which three took part in the farmers movement: Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Gigabytes of comments from ‘Experts’ will pour out. And there will again be a[Read More...]
As village after village is being visited by the political elite of the state of Punjab to make promises and appease the voters for 20th February (when their fate gets decided by the population of the state), the members of BKU (Ekta) Ugrahan – the largest Kisan union in Punjab – was busy preparing for its Lok Kalyan rally, which[Read More...]
The assembly elections in five states, being held from February 10 to March 7, 2022, are bound to have an impact on both: the politics of power and the politics of ideology. The impact of these elections on the politics of power is being discussed more and more in political parties, mass media and citizens’ discourse. With the acceptance and[Read More...]
Selection of Charanjit Singh Channi as party’s Chief Minister-face in Punjab may have enhanced chances of Congress faring better in coming assembly elections than was presumed not too long ago. In 117-member Punjab Assembly, 59 seats are needed to form a majority. During the 2017 elections, Congress won 77 seats, two lesser than it secured in 2012. Aam Aadmi Party[Read More...]
Lok Morcha Punjab adressed a meeting in Teachers Home Bathinda, on January 22nd which was curtailed in terms of size because of covid restrictions. Still it was one of the most qualitative in projecting the democratic revolutionary alternative model to the people. It stressed on active political campaign, opposing slogan of boycott and participating in elections. Speakers touched upon the[Read More...]
On 20 January, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi a dishonest man, and emphasized that Channi should not be viewed as a common man. That is, the patent of the common man lies with Kejriwal alone, and in this respect, honesty as well. Kejriwal made this statement in a quick response to the ED’s[Read More...]
History looks like repeating itself like in the 2012 and 2017 elections where the central programme of farmers groups was attended by around 12-15000 persons., which I personally witnessed in Barnala and Bathinda.The tactic of active political campaign proved correct with those calling for boycott or participating making negligible impact. It effectively raised the democratic political consciousness of the peasants[Read More...]
With all the constraints of time, I do wish to share my views with a large number of friends and likeminded people on an issue, which is very crucial in the coming days and times. This issue concerns farmers participation in coming Punjab Assembly elections, may be in other states -UP and Uttarakhand too, but primarily in the context of[Read More...]
A very significant polarisation has taken place between farmer’s organisations from the Samyukta Morcha on issue of stand in state elections in Punjab. A big chunk are towing the parliamentary path and contesting the polls. However a significant contingent is not participating in the polls or supporting parliamentary candidates The most progressive stand has been adopted by the Bharatiya Kisan[Read More...]
I do not generally opine on the internal affairs of any political party. Hence, I have no comments on the machinations of leadership change in Punjab and the strength or potential of the new leadership. I will only say that Captain Amarinder Singh, a veteran leader of about 80 years, was punished by the Congress high command for not visiting[Read More...]
