Dera, Drugs And Despair

Punjab poll pitch is seeing interesting twists and turns this election season

- Ashwani Sharma 

ON May 14, at noon, several BJP workers were waiting for Preneet Kaur in the sweltering May heat wearing saffron scarves. Kaur, a four-time MP from Patiala and wife of Captain Amarinder Singh, was suspended by the Congress last year. She recently joined the BJP ahead of the General Elections.

That day, ‘maharani sahiba’, as she is fondly called, was going to campaign in Patran, Patiala. When she arrived, everything seemed normal. Suddenly, 200-225 farmers entered the scene on tractors, trolleys and bikes. They were holding banners and waving green and black flags.

Shouting anti-BJP and anti-Kaur slogans, the protesters— including a few women—spilled over to the Jind-Patiala National Highway. Sensing trouble, the police rushed to give cover to the BJP workers. They even tried to convince the farmers to protest at a distance. The unrelenting farmers refused to budge; sloganeering continued over the portable mic system they were carrying.

“We are not stopping the candidate from campaigning. We just have some questions for Preneet ji,” farmer leader Amrik Singh told the police. “We want to know why Prime Minister Modi did not honour the promise he made to agitating farmers when he agreed to withdraw the three farm laws. Why our ‘Dilli Chalo’ march was cut short in February 2024 using repressive measures?” he asked.

This was not the first time in this election that a candidate was facing farmers’ ire. Across Punjab—from Malwa to the Majha belt and Doaba region—many BJP candidates were targeted.