CHANDIGARH: The arrest of a TV comedian for mimicking the self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh shows which way the political winds are blowing given that Assembly polls in Punjab are due early next year. Dera Sacha Sauda has five crore followers, of which 50 lakh are from Punjab and Haryana and nearly half of them are voters. Reviled and venerated in equal measure in these states, the controversial Dera chief has of late become valuable politically.
The Dera holds significant influence in at least 40 of the 117 assembly constituencies in Punjab and its followers are spread out in almost all the other constituencies. Much to the consternation of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and BJP, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has emerged as a major player in the state. AAP has found a support base in the Doaba region, which has a large number of Dalit and lower-caste voters. The party won four Lok Sabha seats out of the 13 in the state—Patiala, Sangrur, Faridkot (Dera has a lot of influence in these areas) and Fategarh Sahib and managed to get 24.4 per cent vote share.
Punjab has the highest percentage of Dalits in the country as they comprise more than 31 per cent of the population and are an important vote bank. It is not surprising that political parties have already started wooing Dalit voters in the state.
The BJP has already started sending out feelers to this community. The saffron party is especially keen to do so as its ally in Punjab—the Akali Dal—is on the backfoot as far as the Dalit vote is concerned. The Akali Dal has been criticised for its alleged inaction on the issue of atrocities against Dalits.
Punjab BJP Vice President Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina said, “It would be tri-angular elections in Punjab this time. As far as Dera support is concerned, it is for the Dera to decide to whom to support. I cannot comment on it.’’
In 2014, the political wing of the Dera, the Saadh Sangat Rajnitik, declared support to the BJP in the Haryana Assembly polls. This was the first time the Dera had openly supported any political party. And it was for the first time that the BJP won and formed the government in the state, bagging 47 of the 90 seats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned very close to the Dera headquarters ahead of the Haryana polls, and also praised Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. BJP’s 44 candidates went to meet Singh under the leadership of Kailash Vijayvargiya—the party’s election-in-charge in Haryana—to seek his blessings. Prior to their visit, BJP chief Amit Shah had also met the Dera chief.
The Dera chief ran into trouble with the Sikh community in 2007 for dressing up as the tenth Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh. He was granted pardon last year in September by Akal Takht Jathedar (the highest temporal seat of Sikhs) Gurbachan Singh, after the Akal Takht had received a written apology from the Dera chief. However, mass protests in the Sikh community against this pardon forced its withdrawal.
It is also well known that though the Dera did not openly declare its support for the Akalis in the 2012 Assembly elections, a word was sent around and the SAD candidates received support from Dera followers in various constituencies. The sudden grant of pardon to the Dera chief, without his making a fresh plea, along with the decision of not imposing a ban on his movie Messenger of God 2, after the violence-rimmed release of the first one, was seen as too much of a coincidence, again keeping in mind the 2017 elections.
“It is for the political wing of the Dera to decide which party to support in the polls. We as a party always appeal to all sections of the society to support us,’’ said Dr Daljeet Singh Cheema, general secretary, Akali Dal.
The numbers game
■ The Dera holds sway in at least 40 of the 117 assembly constituencies in Punjab and its followers are spread out in almost all the other constituencies.
■ The Dera has a lot of influence in Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) strongholds like Patiala, Sangrur, Faridkot, which makes it a precious political ally.