It is being said by analysts that the repeal of the three controversial farm laws by the Narendra Modi government can earn dividends for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh elections, especially in the western part of the state. However, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary feels that the decision to withdraw the laws will give more strength to the farmers to put their issues forward. The former Mathura MP, whose party has a support base in the farm community, also says that the action by the central government comes with the realisation that this will have a huge impact on the UP assembly elections.
“It’s a big win for ‘andolanjeevi’ and every Good Samaritan should be ‘andolanjeevi’, then only we will be able to find a solution for our basic issues,” he said, in a jibe at the Prime Minister who had coined the term ‘andolanjeevi’ (those who live off protests) in February to take a dig at protesters. “It was our right to protest in a democracy. They tried a lot to break us, but in the end, the farmers won. I want to salute the courage and bravery of all the farmers who stood there despite all the odds. There is one objection though. On the one hand, Modi ji was asking for forgiveness, which is a big thing, and it is our tradition to forgive the one seeking forgiveness. However, even when Modi ji was seeking forgiveness, he was saying that only a few farmers didn’t understand this policy. It is not like that. The farmer understands your policy very well. The laws that were being referred to as reforms, the farmers know very well what effect they could have had on their bread and butter.”
Chaudhary said that the public sentiment was largely with the farmers and protests were held across the country. “This will impact the politics of Uttar Pradesh in a big way. Keeping all these things in mind, the government has taken this decision,” he added.
On the question of the impact of this step by the government on UP politics, Jayant Chaudhary said, “The government has bowed down in front of the ‘andolanjeevi’ for the first time. This has given us more power and it is just a start. Be it the fight of MSP (minimum support price) or unemployment, if the people of the country step forward for these issues, then there can be a solution to these issues also. At the moment UP elections are approaching fast and the misgovernance of Yogi Adityanath… we have been opposing it for the last five years and I hope after today’s win our workers will play a crucial role in the 2022 UP elections.”
So what next after the repeal of the farm laws? “This decision lies completely with the farmers who have been sitting out there and protesting for the past one year. The country cannot prosper without solving the issues of the farmers. The farmers’ protest had support from all sections of society. The government has also realised this now,” said the RLD chief.
On being asked if this could benefit the BJP in the UP elections, Chaudhary said, “What if I attack you with a sword today and then put medicine on it after one year? Will you thank me for this? We are still standing where we were standing one year ago. We have lost one full year. We have lost 700 of our brothers. People are still angry over the Lakhimpur incident. Justice has not been given. The accused’s father is still sitting beside the union minister. They will have to answer for this to the public. Also, the way in which electricity, diesel have become costly, people expect more relief from inflation.”
Making his stand clear on the issue of a delay in announcing an alliance between the RLD and the Samajwadi Party, he said that they were working towards finalising a tie-up as soon as possible. “We are working towards a similar direction. I am also holding programmes independently, he (Akhilesh) is also holding programmes independently and we are moving towards giving a strong option to the people. The rumours about me going with the BJP are baseless. We have struggled for the past seven years. We didn’t bow down when we lost elections. Now when people are coming with us, then why would we bow down in front of the BJP?” he said. “The alliance between the SP and RLD is taking time because there are formalities that you have to adhere to and you have to abide by those things. I have to look at many things including our candidates, our own seats. There needs to be an understanding on that and that is a very important aspect of seat-sharing. But we are both working towards that.”
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