With the BJP sealing its alliance with former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s fledgling Punjab Lok Congress Party for the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections, the BJP, which had all the time performed a second position to its former ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), is now forward. taking a look at Playing the position of a senior accomplice in its new alliance within the state.
The BJP is getting ready to carry talks with Captain Amarinder Singh for the place of senior ally in his partnership, aiming to contest extra seats within the elections to the 117-member Punjab Assembly than his newly shaped social gathering. The Akalis had been key companions of their erstwhile alliance, they usually gave the BJP barely two dozen seats for the meeting elections. In the 2017 meeting elections, BJP contested 23 seats and gained three.
The public response following the BJP-led farmers’ agitation in opposition to the Centre’s three agricultural legal guidelines had compelled BJP leaders from Punjab to remain of their properties to protest their social and political boycott by protesters throughout the state. With the difficulty of agricultural legal guidelines now resolved, BJP leaders, armed with a brand new narrative, are transferring out of the state and crossing the state afresh.
Punjab BJP President Ashwini Sharma mentioned, ‘Our slogan is ‘Nawa Punjab Bhajpa De Naal’ (New Punjab is with BJP). Winds of change are blowing within the state, which we will all really feel. This is the time of revolution (revolution), to put in writing a brand new historical past. After what PM Modi ji has carried out, individuals see their future in us.
He was referring to PM Modi’s transfer final month to announce the withdrawal of three agricultural legal guidelines, after which they had been repealed in Parliament, resulting in a year-long lack of farmers at Delhi’s borders per week in the past. The protest was over.
Captain Amarinder Singh, who stop the Congress final month after he was ousted as chief minister by the social gathering, had publicly mentioned that if the Narendra Modi authorities acceded to the agitating farmers’ demand for repeal of agricultural legal guidelines, it could be a part of the BJP. will be a part of fingers with, which was discovered to be widespread. echo within the individuals of punjab
Dushyant Gautam, BJP basic secretary in-charge of Punjab, can also be optimistic concerning the social gathering’s prospects within the meeting elections to be held early subsequent 12 months. We are the social gathering of farmers and can all the time be the social gathering of farmers. Our authorities has began many schemes for the farmers like Kisan Credit Card, Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana and so forth. We by no means stopped caring for them even in the course of the Kisan Andolan (farmer motion in opposition to agricultural legal guidelines). We began the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme to make funds to farmers regardless of opposition from Akali, Congress and AAP.
The Punjab unit of the BJP, which has historically been related to city Hindu businessmen, is now attempting to broaden its attraction for elections, based on its marketing campaign pamphlet in Punjabi launched lately by the central social gathering management. is mirrored in.
The pamphlet, which has an image of PM Modi providing prayers at a gurdwara, lists numerous steps taken by the BJP authorities for the welfare of the Sikh neighborhood. It claims measures starting from the inauguration of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor to justice for the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, elimination of GST from langar, rehabilitation of Sikhs from Afghanistan and efforts to deliver again the holy Guru Granth Sahib from that nation. , It additionally mentions that the BJP had organized particular applications on the 550th Prakash Parv competition of Guru Nanak Dev and the 350th Prakash Purb of Guru Gobind Singh.
To attain out to the Scheduled Caste neighborhood, the BJP has additionally ready comparable publicity materials highlighting its work for the Dalits.
State BJP basic secretary Subhash Sharma mentioned such pamphlets had been a part of efforts to “dispel misconceptions” concerning the social gathering in Punjab. “BJP is a nationwide social gathering. It is a false narrative that we signify only a specific part of the society or city individuals. When we had been in alliance with SAD, we used to contest solely 23 seats which had extra city and Hindu voters as a result of they needed it that method. Now we are going to develop our circle.”
He claimed that 8,000 new members had joined the social gathering within the final six months and 500 of them did so after the repeal of agricultural legal guidelines. “Many of them are Sikhs, we represent all communities.”
The latest inclusion of former outstanding Akali face Manjinder Singh Sirsa, a well known pro-farmer chief, is a part of the BJP’s try to win over farmers and Sikhs within the state forward of the elections.
Punjab BJP Kisan Morcha President Bikramjit Singh Cheema mentioned, “We are actively visiting villages. Now nobody has any objection. We had been all the time with him. Many new faces have joined BJP and lots of extra faces are prone to be a part of within the coming days. Now many Sikh faces shall be seen within the social gathering. ,
The saffron social gathering can also be in talks for an electoral tie-up with former Akali chief Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, hoping that the alliance with Captain Amarinder and Dhindsa can even be capable of mission their inclusive picture forward of the elections. ,
“We represent all Punjabis,” says Subhash Sharma, including, “Our leaders have already held conferences in all 117 constituencies of Punjab. Now we’re planning to begin public relations program within the coming days. We did not have any main points with farmers. Issues associated to agricultural legal guidelines have been resolved.”
Now the BJP can also be strolling cautiously on the difficulty of sacrilege. Soon after a youth was lynched on Saturday for alleged sacrilege on the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Sirsa strongly condemned the “unfortunate and painful sacrilege incident at Sri Darbar Sahib”. He mentioned he has taken up this with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who, he mentioned, was saddened by the incident and guaranteed full cooperation of the Center in “uncovering any conspiracy behind this sacrilege”.
In his remarks, Ashwini Sharma mentioned, “We condemn the sacrilege incident within the holy Darbar Sahib..Such incidents have been going down in Punjab for the previous few years at numerous locations. This reveals the whole failure of regulation and order of the ruling Congress authorities. Even the federal government has didn’t punish the culprits of the vandalism incident in 2015.
It is one other case that the sacrilege in 2015 involving torn pages of the Guru Granth Sahib – which was discovered on 12 October 2015 within the streets of Bargari village of Kotkapura constituency of Faridkot district, led to large public protests and police firing. Happened when the Akali-BJP authorities was in energy. The challenge had changed into a serious political disaster for the Akali-BJP authorities, whose affect is making waves within the state’s politics.
Punjab BJP leaders are getting ready a database of beneficiaries of varied central schemes within the state, together with PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana and Ujjwala Yojana.
“There is also a crop insurance scheme for farmers, but the Punjab government never implemented it. So we will guide the farmers on its benefits and how they can take advantage of it and not worry about their crops in future,” Cheema mentioned.
Several BJP leaders have already entered the fray and joined the marketing campaign in rural areas of Punjab. Fazilka BJP chief Subodh Verma mentioned, “I’m interacting with the individuals of Baluana space and going to villages every day.
Similarly, Surjit Kumar Jayani Fazilka, a former minister, is busy assembly individuals in villages, particularly in villages close to the India-Pakistan border. Jayani needed to face farmers’ sit-in exterior her home in Fazilka’s Kathera village for months. Now the strike has been lifted.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
