Farmer groups say impact of protests will be seen in Haryana Assembly polls

As protests continue in poll-bound Haryana, farmer groups have once again expressed their opposition to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with farmers’ collectives planning a series of mahapanchayats to raise awareness about these issues and pending demands.

Haryana was a major centre of the 2020-21 farmers’ protests against the now-repealed farm laws. The protest was held under the banner of Smayukt Kisan Morcha.

The group later split and formed Samyuk Kisan Morch (Apolitical). The SKM (NP), along with Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), is leading the ongoing protest at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana.

Both groups are opposed to the ruling BJP and their demands are similar.

Abhimanyu Kohar, a farmer leader of the SKM (NP), said the impact of the farmers’ protests was also visible in the recent Lok Sabha elections, and the protests that have been going on have made people in rural areas aware that they should vote on their issues.

“Even in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP suffered losses in rural areas. The protests in 2020-21 and those that began on February 13, 2024 have created awareness. And farmers and labourers are voting on issues that affect them,” Kohar told PTI over phone.

“Issues like Minimum Support Price (MSP) and implementation of Swaminathan Commission recommendations are important factors in rural Haryana,” he said.

He also said that issues like the Agniveer scheme and a reduction in funds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) are also prominent in the rural areas of the state.

As sit-in protests continue at Shambhu and Khanauri borders, Kohar said the “atrocities” committed against protesters have not been forgotten.

“The violence and atrocities committed against farmers are very fresh in people’s memories. They will teach a lesson to the BJP in this election,” he said.

Kohar added that the SKM-NP is reaching out to people in the villages. “We are holding small public meetings, where we are also showing pictures and videos of the incidents,” he said, adding that a “video van” would be launched soon.

The SKM-NP will also hold a ‘Mahapanchayat’ on September 15 at Jind’s Uchana Mandi, while a Mahapanchayat will be held at Kurkshetra’s Peepli on September 22.

All India Kisan Sabha, Haryana secretary Sumit Singh, who is a member of Samyukt Kisan Morcha, said farmers’ issues will dominate the upcoming elections in rural areas.

“We will see the impact of the farmers’ protests in these Assembly elections. It was seen in the Lok Sabha elections as well,” Singh told PTI.

The SKM is also visiting villages to create awareness about the pending demands of the farmers, Singh said. The group also plans to hold ‘Kisan Majdoor Mahapanchayats’ between September 1 and 10, and the final decision will be taken at a meeting of the Haryana SKM on August 20.

The farmers’ demands include ensuring a legally guaranteed MSP based on the C2+50% formula with assured supply for all crops, no privatisation of the energy sector, among others.

In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the BJP, which had won all 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana in the 2019 elections, lost five to the Congress.

This time, while the Congress is taking on the BJP, the Aam Aadmi Party has also announced that it will fight for all 90 seats. Also in the fray are the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), which has entered into an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), which was in alliance with the BJP till March this year, among others.

Asked if votes could be split, Singh said: “People will understand who the strong candidate is and support him.” “We are not campaigning for any party, we will tell people to choose the strongest candidate against the BJP,” he said.

Kohar also said that the SKM-NP opposes the policies of the BJP government but is not campaigning in support of any party.

Farmer leader Gurnam Singh Charuni, chief of the Bharatiya Kisan Union Haryana and founder of the Sanyukt Sangharsh Party, which is also contesting these elections, also said that people are against the BJP, but agreed that votes against the ruling party could be divided.

“That is the fault of the Congress. They should have formed an alliance with us,” Charuni said.

Charuni, who was also part of the SKM during the 2020-21 protests and parted ways after forming her party, said her effort is to ensure that farmers understand the power of their votes.

“We have formed a political party and we are trying to make farmers understand that their direct participation in the government is important for our demands to be accepted,” he added.

Meanwhile, Singh said opposition parties should understand that people want to defeat the BJP and unite.

“We appeal to political parties to also understand that people are against the BJP, and when people are fighting against the BJP, they should also join hands,” he said.

Elections to the 90-member Haryana assembly will be held on October 1 and the results will be declared on October 4.