Chandigarh: Only the party’s central leadership in Delhi can answer questions about a possible revival of the alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Sunil Jarkhar said Sunday, responding to questions about the party’s preparations in the state ahead of the parliamentary elections next year.
“It is not for me to answer this question. I’m simply not in the position to do so. This is for the party’s central leadership to decide. But I believe as a party, we can’t keep looking to others to hold our hands. We’re a full-fledged party and a formidable force on our own,” he said.
In a free-wheeling chat with ThePrint, Jakhar — who was appointed president of the Punjab BJP on 4 July — said the whole idea of a coalition like the one with the SAD was to “ensure communal harmony” in Punjab. “With the break in the coalition, the biggest fallout for Punjab has been that extremist forces got a space to operate. The rise of people like Amritpal and other extremist elements in the state is a direct result of this.”
Jakhar, a three-time MLA and one-time MP who joined the BJP last May, added that a “complete vacuum of a strong leadership will always manifest in such forces rearing their ugly heads” in Punjab. “That’s what happened with the Akalis also. They also drew their strength from the coalition and depended on it,” he remarked.
Punjab, he added, is the most secular state and any party which tries to divide it on the basis of either caste or religion will find no takers here.
Jakhar, who headed the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee as its president from 2017 to 2021, also said that there is a stark difference between the BJP and the Congress.
“The level of commitment, ideological moorings, nationalist fervour which are palpable in the BJP are totally missing in the Congress,” he said, adding that the Congress was born out of the freedom struggle and its nationalistic ideology remained its binding force for decades. He pointed out that the same nationalist fervour was “visible in the Congress in the 60s, until the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971”.
“But since then, that passion and those feelings have gradually faded away. And despite the passage of more than two generations of party leadership since then, there is nothing new that the Congress offers. They failed to keep the flame alive, so to say.”
According to Jakhar, the BJP, on the other hand, “continues to hold on steadfastly to strong ideological and nationalist moorings that are tangible”. This nationalist fervour, he added, motivates the party’s leaders and workers to work hard and remain committed.
“To put it simply, the BJP is a party that works hard and the Congress is a party whose existence is now merely because of its brand name.”
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‘Akalis didn’t guide wisely on farm laws’
Asked about whether it is a challenge for the Punjab BJP to find a foothold in rural areas, he asserted, “Yes, there is a perception that Punjab BJP does not have a presence in rural areas. But this perception is false.” He went further to add that this perception was built over the years by the Akalis who were allied with the BJP for several decades.
“It suited the coalition dharma as part of which Badal saab (Parkash Singh Badal) would ask BJP leaders to leave rural areas and villages for them to take care of.”
Jakhar said the BJP leadership in Punjab would go by the Akalis’ plan owing to Badal’s personal equation with top BJP leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani and Arun Jaitley.
This, he added, led to the view that the BJP was a “younger brother in the coalition”.
“But while this perception has been built, it is not the reality on the ground. After all, across the country, the BJP gets a huge number of votes from rural areas as well. So why should Punjab be any different? The issues which people living in rural areas face are the same across the nation,” said the former Member of Parliament (MP) from Gurdaspur.
On how the BJP plans to undo the damage caused to its image as a result of the farmers’ agitation, Jakhar was quick to point out that he was among the first to have objected to the three farm laws. “I have been in this party (BJP) for almost a year now and have reasons to believe that the central government was not guided wisely by their coalition partner in Punjab (Akalis) about the impact it (farm laws) would have had in the state.”
Punjab’s objections to the farm laws, he said, were centred around the lifting of grain by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the issue of minimum support prices (MSP).
“The protest (against farm laws) started in Punjab and spread to Haryana and parts of Uttar Pradesh. Had the Akalis been more vociferous in their objections during meetings held before the three laws were passed, the damage could have been avoided. Akalis reacted only when the protest reached Badal village. By which time it was too late.”
Jakhar, however, added that he did not believe much is lost since the BJP has done “so much for the farmers over the years”.
According to the state BJP chief, the party’s Punjab unit needs to work on its channels of communication to ensure that all the work the party has done for the betterment of farmers is conveyed to them effectively.
“Whether it is the increase in fertiliser subsidies or the (Kisan) Samman Nidhi scheme, the schemes for farm labourers, there is enough material for our party to approach farmers in villages and try to negate whatever perceptions they might have,” said Jakhar.
Asked about Punjab BJP’s course of action in the run-up to the general election next year, he told ThePrint, “The first step is for us to realise and recognise our strengths. Our cadres are dedicated, motivated and hard-working. There is no lack of commitment or sincerity.
“We have to talk in the language of the common man so that they understand our message. We are a five trillion-economy but what does it mean to the common man? What is there in it for him? We have to communicate better, unpack the layers and talk in terms of how the government can help them.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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