CHANDIGARH: Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) from Punjab, who took a lot of interest in the last Assembly elections and came in large numbers and campaigned for various political parties besides giving monetary help, were missing from the poll scene this time, as campaigning ended on Friday.
The diaspora made their presence felt for the first time in the 2012 Assembly polls when they supported the People’s Party of Punjab.
Even though the PPP did not win even a single seat, it could garner 5 per cent of total votes. In the 2014 Parliament election, too, the NRIs pitched in but supported the AAP.
In 2017, the diaspora participated in the election activities in large numbers and most of them supported the AAP.
The NRIs who wanted to participate in election activities landed in big numbers in Delhi for their onward journey to Punjab and even performed bhangra at the airport.
The biggest beneficiary of the NRIs’ enthusiasm was the AAP.
The diaspora had supported the farmers’ agitation at the borders of Delhi for over a year. However, when the farmer unions launched a political party — Sanyukt Samaj Morcha (SSM) — they didn’t get any support from the NRIs.
Satnam Singh Chahal, executive director of North American Punjabi Association (NAPA), said this time NRIs are not interested in the elections back home.
“In the last Assembly polls the NRIs came for canvassing, especially for the AAP. The NRIs even chartered a flight from Toronto to Delhi. Earlier, the NRIs used to go to Punjab one or two months in advance and campaign for Congress and SAD, but This time they are not interested. The diaspora feels its efforts to make a change in the system have not yielded any results.” Jodhbir Singh, who lives in the US, alleged all political parties used the NRIs just to collect money.