The three farm laws were not only a headache for farmers but for the government as well. Since its inclusion in the parliament a new wave rise in the parts of Punjab and Haryana where the groups began to unite and started abandoning the agendas of PM Modi and began to protest for revoking these laws. These farmers’ movement against the three agricultural laws emerged from Punjab and went global, a drastic political change ensued in the state.
New Parties And Groups Getting stimulus
The movement took the major decision to keep a distance from political leaders. Naturally, members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Punjab unit faced the brunt as their party was responsible for enacting the controversial laws. Even though 11 round of talks had happened no results came out of it and Modi didn’t even budge from his decision and this sudden U-turn is seems to be a political tactic.
The movement also redrew political alignments in the state, forcing Punjab’s old regional party, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), to snap ties with the BJP and attempt a new social and political coalition when it inked a pact with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Third, the BJP’s stock fell remarkably, so much so that no other party dares to align with it. When former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh exited the Congress and announced he would be open to ally with the BJP, he came in for criticism for siding with anti-Punjab forces.
Modi’s Dream For BJP State Started Fading Away
Now the announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to repeal the laws is going to have a cascading effect. Political commentator and journalist Hamir Singh said that the victory of the farmers will certainly set the tone for a new era of politics in Punjab.
“I see the emergence of alternative politics in Punjab under the leadership of farmer leaders. I will not be surprised if farmer leaders float their own party and take their fight forward. Only time will tell how successful they are going to be but they will certainly make an impact. The farmers’ movement has created a space for dissent against mainstream parties and gave people the confidence to believe that they can fight the powerful forces,” he said. Hamir Singh added that there will also be new alignments in mainstream political parties.
There is also a chance that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will attempt to bring popular leaders from the movement into the party and maybe even make one of them the chief ministerial face. Well, the stage is set with topics to be mended in Punjab and hopefully new faces will rule and change the fate of Punjab politics.
Source : The Wire
