There are two approaches to realize the objectives of the movements like on-going farmer’s agitation especially when about two third Indians (farmers + farm laborers who are fully or partly dependent on agriculture in which hundreds of thousands of farmers have committed suicide due to nonremunerative prices of agriculture produce) are supporting this agitation either on ground or from their houses (mainly on the issue of legally enforceable ‘Minimum Support Price’, the MSP).
It is evident that farmer’s leadership has given-up the first and quick-result-giving approach of ‘Jail Bharo Andolan’ (fill the prison movement) to achieve their objectives and has preferred the second approach which is electoral approach especially after recent local body elections in Punjab, where BJP has lost mainly due to farmer’s agitation. This second approach looks quite reasonable given the fact that in democracy when the government can be removed by vote (which is quite easy given the support of at-least two thirds of India for this agitation) then why go to prison under such a government.
But there is a huge risk in this electoral approach. Farmers are going to mobilize people against the ruling party at centre, the BJP all over India which will (highly likely) defeat BJP in all the local bodies, Vidhan Sabha (State Legislatures) and ultimately in Lok Sabha (Parliament) elections 2024. Hence the farmer’s leadership should ask the political parties (opposed to BJP and who will benefit from this electoral approach of agitating farmers) to publicly declare that what they will do (when they come to power) to fulfil the demands of the agitating farmers, otherwise the farmers would come out as naïve people who would have benefited only the opposition political parties without getting anything worth mentioning for themselves.
China must be glad to see the farmers taking said electoral approach. Presently communists (and their leftist allies) are dominating trade unions of agitating farmers and they will recruit more farmers in their trade unions from all over India as this agitation spreads in rest of India. China will be happy to provide funds to communists for this purpose which will facilitate Chinese control over Indian politics through these communists who are bound to increase their influence across India during on-going farmers agitation in which farmer’s trade unions (which communists are expert in launching & running) will play crucial role
Hem Raj Jain
