Punjab polls: Sanyukt Samaj Morcha on sticky wicket in hotbed of farmers’ stir

The Sanyukt Samaj Morcha--the political front of 22 farmer unions that had taken part in the stir against the Centre’s farm laws--is finding it hard to woo voters here, with many questioning their foray into politics.

The opposition to Morcha’s move to contest the Punjab assembly polls has come from some of the most influential farmer unions, especially the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan).

The union is the state’s largest farmer outfit holding considerable influence in Sangrur, which was a hotbed of the struggle against the central laws.

The union’s head, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, says they can’t compromise on principles.

"We had come together to fight against the central laws on the basis of a common minimum programme, which bars unions from undertaking any such adventure," says Ugrahan, whose union has a presence in around 1,600 villages.

He says as soon as 22 farmer unions decided to contest the polls, they stopped being part of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer unions that led the stir against the laws.

"The ball is now in their court. They will have to clarify on it," he says.

Krantikari Kisan Union chief Dr Darshan Pal echoes similar views.

He rejects the farmer bodies' political plunge, saying history tells that any party formed out of a movement like the farmers' agitation can't survive.

Pal claims that a majority of the outfits that joined the SSM have already left it.

Randeep Kaur, vice-president of the Sunam block for the Ugrahan faction of the BKU, says they stand with their leadership against the Morcha.

"They should have acted as a pressure group instead of forming an outfit to contest the polls," says Rupinder, who actively participated in the year-long stir against the central laws at Delhi borders.

Not only farmer leaders, but people also seem upset.

They should have waited at least till the Lok Sabha polls, says Bhagwan Das, an arhtiya and a resident of Sangrur’s Dirba Assembly segment.

Das says the outfits should have first got farmers’ issues resolved. Contesting elections or even getting a few seats won’t help farmers much, he opines.

"Everything is being controlled by the Centre. They should have acted as a pressure group, holding agitations if required to get farmers’ issues resolved. They will lose deposits," he says.

Gurshagandeep Singh, a 32-year-old farmer and a resident of Sangrur’s Ratol Kalan village, is also disappointed.

He says the issue of getting the minimum support price (MSP) for crops still lingers.

"This can’t be done unless farmer unions act as a pressure group and the political plunge by some of them weakens the movement," he says pointing to rising production cost and hidden unemployment in the farming sector.

No more than Rs 10,000 or Rs 15,000 is saved per acre, which we get on a rent of Rs 65,000 a year, he stresses.

Swaranjit Singh, a social activist, shows a WhatsApp message on his phone, telling that 16 of the 22 farmers bodies have already quit the Morcha.

He also questions the tickets given by the Morcha and hints that its leadership is being backed by the BJP.

Rupinder Singh, 33, says they don’t have any hope from the farmers’ political front or any other party.

A resident of Sangrur’s Kamalpur village, he says farmers did not fear the laws as much as they feared the “system” prevailing in the country.

"We did not want cartelisation, where a few people dominate the procurement process," he says, adding that the farmers’ front doesn’t seem to offer any solution to it.

But does he has any hope from any party? Rupinder responds negatively. Even the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is projecting itself as an alternative in Punjab, fails to excite him.

People are fed up with the governments, which sit idle for the larger part of their term and try to do some work only in the last few months of their tenure, he says.

"People want to change not because they have faith in AAP or any other party, they don’t want that political parties to carry the impression that everything can be managed by performing in the last months," Rupinder adds.

However, SSM’s Sunam candidate A S Mann is hopeful of winning the elections.

He says candidates of the political front after making it to the state Assembly can ensure that farmers get a fair price of their crops.

He rejects the "pressure group" narrative, saying the solution lies in contesting the polls.

"It’s wrong to think that by only staging dharnas or facing ‘lathis’ one can get issues resolved," he says.

However, amid opposing views, Kuldeep Singh, an office-bearer of the Kirti Kisan Union, stresses the need to save the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha.

"Let the SSM contest the polls. If they can do something, it’s better. Why to oppose them," he says pressing the point.

Check out the latest videos from DH: