CHANDIGARH: The BJP decided to repeal the farm laws to mitigate the perceived electoral loss in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand assembly elections in view of the formidable peasantry in north India, say political analysts.
Political analyst Prof Ashutosh of Punjab University says, "The BJP leadership must have calculated that any delay in withdrawing the farm laws would lead to an electoral loss in the key state of Uttar Pradesh, especially the western part of the state and at the same time, the BJP can think of having some presence in Punjab in the polls. The decision would also make the farmers’ leaders kaput. In Punjab, the farmers' movement will fizzle out now."
"There was a dire need to engage the peasantry while debating the agrarian crisis in the past. But now it seems the ruling party will step in for threadbare discussions with farmer' organisations. The ruling party has taken this decision to mitigate the electoral loss in the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand. In Punjab, the party will try to take credit for this move but it will not translate into votes for them. The public will give credit to farmers rather than the political parties as they know which party did what," says leading political observer Prof Kuldeep Singh.
Another political expert pointed out that for more than 20-year-old the alliance between the BJP with SAD broke last year due to the farm laws. The Akalis broke the tie-up with the BJP making the saffron party a pariah in Punjab. The BJP has also been facing increasing hostility among the Jats of Haryana and Western UP, he opined.
Also, a major turning point was the incident at Lakhimpur Kheri in which four farmers and others died when they were allegedly run over by a vehicle belonging to the son of Union Minister Ajay Misra Teni, he added.