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On the one hand, farmers remain steadfast in their demand for the repeal of the three farm laws, and the movement is gaining traction in poll-bound states such as Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab. In a recent interview with FinancialExpress.com, Jai Kisan Morcha founder Yogendra Yadav, one of the most visible faces of the farmers’ protest, argued that a movement of this nature should be political, and that refusing to speak to the government in the language it understands – that of votes and elections – would be foolish. Yadav also concedes that protests like these help political parties acquire electoral traction.
BKU spokesperson Rakesh Tikait made similar sentiments, saying that, like West Bengal, efforts will be undertaken in Uttar Pradesh to create a climate hostile to the BJP in the 2022 assembly elections.
While the SKM and BKU have yet to detail their strategy for the poll-bound states, they have stated that a “Mission UP” and “Mission Uttarakhand” are high on their priority list. So, has the farmers’ protest moved away from attempting to interact with the Modi government in order to achieve a political agenda? Is a political push the only option left for the movement to persuade the Centre to bend?
Political proclivities
Experts feel that a rational solution to this conundrum cannot be reached without considering the political leanings of the two leading figures in these protests, Rakesh Tikait and Yogendra Yadav.
Tikait, who is currently the face of the continuing farmers’ protest, was a key figure in the BJP’s strong post-2014 electoral performance in western Uttar Pradesh.
Tikait mobilised the Jat community in western Uttar Pradesh in 2013, after the Muzaffarnagar riots killed over 60 lives, and linked with the BJP to the point where they went against RLD Ajit Singh, the son of Chaudhary Charan Singh, the group’s most powerful leader.
In 2014, Tikait ran for Amroha on Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal ticket, but his khap panchayat and “polarisation” allegedly aided the saffron party. The polarisation shattered the region’s solidarity among Jats and Muslims, later becoming one of the most important elements in the BJP’s victory across all Lok Sabha seats.
Tikait’s political career has stalled despite his support for the BJP in 2014, the 2017 UP assembly elections, and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Tikait broke down in tears at a press conference on January 28, following the Red Fort violence on Republic Day, as he made an emotional plea at the Ghazipur protest site, claiming he would commit suicide but not terminate the demonstration. These few tear drops not only elevated him to a status symbol among Jats in western Uttar Pradesh, but they also shifted the protests in a new direction. Tikait, who has shifted his political allegiance with each shift in power politics, may now be looking the farmers’ movement as a new way to recover political prominence.
Meanwhile, Yogendra Yadav, who has played a key role in recent protests, was also a key figure in the anti-CAA rallies in Shaheen Bagh.
“I would like it to have an effect,” Yadav remarked when questioned about the impact of the demonstrations on the BJP in the next assembly elections. I’d like to believe that our presence in Bengal had an impact. It would be naive of me to believe that we were the ones who threw the Bengal election results out of whack. We probably made a one- or two-degree difference, and we are grateful for that. And it’ll be much better if we can make a three-degree difference in Uttar Pradesh.”
“Whoever profits, gains; whoever loses, loses,” Yadav had stated when asked whether the entry of political players would suppress the farmers’ interests. Anyone in a position of political power must understand that “Kisano se panga nahi lena aage se” (don’t tamper with the farmers from now on).
Protesters’ encampment locus
Yogendra Yadav sought to “keep the fire burning” between farmers and the government, so that the public’s opinion of the latter would be negative.
According to FinancialExpress.com, Sangit Ragi, HOD Political Science, Delhi University.
“Yogendra Yadav is a vehement anti-BJP opponent. Second, he would never accept any kind of compromise or agreement between farmers and the government. And it’s for this reason that he wants to keep the fire burning, so that the public’s attitude turns against the administration. “You can always find a solution in any trade union movement,” he remarked. Ragi believes that the protests should have ended after the Supreme Court placed the farm laws on hold, but that the agricultural unions’ refusal to budge from their desire for the farm laws to be repealed shows that they are unwilling to compromise.
Tikait revealed in a recent interview with a Hindi news channel that the MSP in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu was significantly less than what farmers in Uttar Pradesh received. This raises questions about why the protests in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh are more violent than in other states.
Have the protests been diminished by Rakesh Tikait and Yogendra Yadav?
According to Narender Kumar, Professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Centre for Political Studies, Tikait’s involvement into the farmers’ protest in January this year drove other farmer leaders out of the picture, who started the protests.
“Ever since Rakesh Tikait joined the protest, which was predominantly led by Punjabi farmers, the spotlight has been on him, especially after he cried after the Red Fort violence case. Other leaders who were in the forefront of the movement are no longer visible. So, somewhere, someone knew ahead of time that his (Rakesh Tikait’s) arrival would stifle the farmers’ movement,” he explained.
Kumar, citing the Black Panthers in the United States and Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement, claims that when movements take on a political overtone, they tend to stray from their original purpose. “There have been many movements that began for a reason but later became politicised, only to die away. For example, until the Black Panthers movement in the United States became non-political, it was viewed very differently by the general public. Even the Anna movement finally became political, but despite this, it was able to preserve a public image, which is extremely difficult,” Kumar remarked.
Professor K Sivasubramaniyan of the Madras Institute of Development Studies agrees, stating that the politicisation of any issue is the country’s largest concern. “The movements of farmers are like to forest fires. Political players into the movement will undoubtedly have a negative impact,” he claims.
Agriculture expert Devinder Sharma, on the other hand, believes that politicising protests is a good technique for farmers to use. He goes on to add that farmers should focus their efforts on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “I believe it is past time for farmers to get involved in politics. By political, I don’t mean that they should form a political party right soon, but they should aim for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.”
Why is there a greater response in northern India?
Other states, unlike Delhi, do not have sealed borders, neither in the south nor in the east or west. Even the Bharat Bandh, which was called by farmers in protest on September 27, had an influence in the national capital and neighbouring Punjab and Haryana provinces.
According to Ashwani Mahajan of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, the Bandh was mainly unsuccessful even in the states of Haryana and Punjab, and was limited to small pockets of influence of these agitating farmers. “This entire protest has turned political, with the Congress, AAP, and other political parties joining in.”
Farmers are protesting in northern states because elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab are coming up in less than six months, and they want to “make an impression.”
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The Chenab Times News Desk