Broomstruck In Bathinda

From the fog that descends on winter nights over Punjab바카라�s yellow and green mustard fields emerges a glimpse of an unpredictably theatrical electoral verdict. Cruising through the state바카라�s verdant Malwa and Doaba regions, where lie about ninety of its 117 assembly constituencies, it seems the Aam Aadmi Party has parachuted deep into the electoral terrain here.

Two months ago, the usual pre-election debates dominated Punjab: The scourge of drug abuse, the related grouse over lack of employment and the decline of agriculture. From contributing almost 60 per cent to the state GDP in the 바카라�70s, the share of agriculture declined to under a quarter in the last decade, while the agricultural growth rate twice plunged into the negative zone.

These factors were steadily eroding the Shiromani Akali Dal vote bank, and creating support for the Congress and AAP. But then, the Centre바카라�s demonetisation, announced in early November, dramatically changed scenarios. Where discontent and anti-incumbency were alr­eady writ large, the war on black money added another deep wrinkle to the pre-electoral process.

In several villages in the Mansa, Moga, Sangrur and Bathinda districts, many people say that they will shift allegiance in the upcoming state polls to the 바카라�jhadoo wali party바카라� due to dissatisfaction with the ruling coalition. A good many say they are undecided, but are also considering AAP.

These districts are part of Punjab바카라�s Malwa region, with people considered to be boldly outspoken. The reason they cite most for considering a party with no track record in Punjab is their anger against existing alternatives, which they perceive to have fostered a wide chasm between the rich and poor. The Congress is popular, especially in Patiala바카라�Amarinder Singh바카라�s hometown바카라�but many more seem to hold the view that even that party has allowed the poor to turn poorer and the rich richer.

바카라�There was an AAP wave here two months back but not now,바카라� says Paramjeet Singh of Jogipura, near Ghanaur in Patiala. 바카라�We are with the Congress, at least 30 per cent votes here are religious and the rest will go where the wind blows,바카라� puts in Gurminder Singh.

Another Patiala resident, a native of Lambipur village, Amreek Singh, says people are getting by with mutual cooperation in the post-demonetisation cash crunch. 바카라�It바카라�s like if there was a curfew. Or like when Partition happened,바카라� he says quite seriously. 바카라�Right now, little children are crying for even toffees, but let바카라�s wait for the end of 50 days and see what tohfa (gift) we get,바카라� he adds.

As opposed to Malwa, in parts of the Doaba region바카라�Nakodar, Jalandhar and Banga바카라�people are said to be taciturn and less forthcoming. However, even here there is a great interest in the 바카라�Dilliwali party바카라� and its supremo, Arvind Kejriwal. In Doaba cities there바카라�s talk of all parties: The Congress, SAD and the BJP, but amongst the poor, there바카라�s an unm­istakable surge in favour of AAP. These cities and towns are the nerve centre for an awakening in subaltern political assertion by Dalits and the Delhi-based party has captured their conversations, if not imaginations.

바카라�The party that works will get the votes,바카라� says Harminder Kaur, a middle-aged housewife at Bhiki, a kasba of Mansa district in the Malwa region. 바카라�Earlier, Akalis used to get votes here. This time people haven바카라�t decided. They are discussing it amongst themselves. They are talking about jhadoo.바카라�

Everyone, even those who pledge support to the Congress, SAD or others, seems to be talking about the jhadoo, or broom, AAP바카라�s election symbol. The Valmikis, who relate the broom to their caste-based occupation, are a bulk of Punjab바카라�s roughly 32 per cent Dalit populace and relatively prosperous among the community in Punjab. For them, the jhadoo signals exactly what the AAP intends to convey to every Punjabi: That it means to cleanse the political system of corruption and eradicate drug abuse.

Malakpur in Sangrur is an instance of a village where the broom has acquired a wider appeal among the poor and richer alike, regardless of caste. 바카라�They have stopped currency notes from circulating. They couldn바카라�t stop alcohol from circulating,바카라� says Harpreet Kaur, a Jat Sikh. She is saying what most others in the Malwa say, that the SAD failed to tackle the drug menace while the BJP, its ally, made life tougher for the poor. 바카라�This government did nothing for the people, so we will go for Kejriwal. In the last two elections we voted for Akali,바카라� she says. Gulab Kaur, a Jat farmer바카라�s wife says, 바카라�Our electricity bills are so high. It is breaking our backs. Let바카라�s see what the Delhi party does.

Jagdeep Kaur, a housewife, says, 바카라�We go to the bank in Bathinda to withdraw cash. There is no money there mostly. They should have prepared for noteba­ndi. In all of Punjab, in every village, people will vote for jhadoo.바카라�

Kanwar Singh, a Jat landowner, says he initially supported demonetisation, but not since he couldn바카라�t withdraw cash for his own medical treatment, after an accident left him unable to work on his farm. 바카라�Modi had earlier asked for 100 days for black money to come back. He had said, 바카라�open bank accounts, I will give you money바카라�. Now, the rich are not standing in line, the poor are.바카라�

Jaspreet Singh, an unemployed youth and his friend Harbans say they바카라�re both vot­­ing for jhadoo because they바카라�re tired of filling job applications without success.

Among Malakpur바카라�s Dalits, whom both SAD and Congress are trying to woo, the jhadoo dominates conversation. Jagdish Singh, a BSP worker, says Dalits are angry about demonetisation, but the Congress, the traditional alternative to BJP or SAD, is still not gathering moss. 바카라�Sixty years later, the poor are getting poorer. People don바카라�t feel that the Congress does groundwork. I바카라�m in Kanshi Ram바카라�s party but people here are talking about jhadoo,바카라� says Jagdish.

Najar Singh, the village numberdar, is, however, immune to shifting winds. 바카라�See me in a month. Once the code of conduct kicks in, all those talking about AAP will move to Akali. Badal ki hi baarish na ho jaaye,바카라� he says.

On the rural outskirts of Bathinda, still in the Malwa region, lives Harvinder Kaur Ruby, whose husband and she are farm workers. 바카라�This Akali government simply takes no dec­isions. After notebandi, it took us 15 days to withdraw Rs 2,000. We just want a third party now. Even the Congress is the same as Akali or BJP. We have to vote for the Dilliwali party,바카라� she says.

Many villagers are taking electoral cues from city-dwelling relatives, explains Moti Singh, a daily-wage worker. 바카라�All our relatives in Bathinda, Ludhiana say we should not vote for anybody but jhadoo. We lost our means of livelihood with notebandi, and NREGA is ineffective. Modi and Badal give speeches but don바카라�t work on implementation.바카라�

Sikandar Singh, who runs a small ration store, says he will vote for the Congress again. 바카라�Only ten out of a hundred talk about AAP party here,바카라� he says.

Nakodar, a small town en route to Jalandhar from Moga, falls in a strange in-between zone바카라�a kind of bridge bet­ween the Malwa and Doaba regions. The situation in Nakodar is tense. This is largely on account of the state바카라�s atrophied economy, which has failed to create jobs. Ten years ago, Punjab바카라�s debts were at Rs 50,000 crore, but have now swelled to around Rs 2 lakh crore. People here are palpably more silent, or secretive, than in adjoining Malwa villages. There is also a big division of voters among Sikh and non-Sikh sects and deras, each regularly visited by politicians of all hues.

Kala, who makes a living sweeping streets, says, 바카라�We are with the Dera Sachcha Sauda and Pitaji has asked us to support the party that puts an end to nasha,바카라� he says. Of course, all parties promise to do so, and Kala prefers to keep his own selection shrouded in mystery.

It is this fog that Kejriwal and the AAP are parachuting into, often stumbling upon complex issues, such as how the waters of the Ravi, Sutlej and Beas are to be distributed among riparian states. The divide among voters becomes very apparent in Jalandhar city바카라�s famed leather market, Boota Mandi. 바카라�Work here has ground close to a standstill,바카라� says Desh Raj, a leather industry worker. 바카라�The atmosphere is dominated by Congress and AAP,바카라� says he.

This is almost a refrain among Dalits, whose economic resurgence was owed almost entirely to the multi-thousand crore raw leather trading done at Boota Mandi. 바카라�First, Congress ruled for five years and then Akalis, but people are now looking for a new party,바카라� says Hans Raj, a shoe-maker. 바카라�The children of the poor are literally dying of hunger since demonetisation,바카라� says Ghulam Nabi Pehalwan.

Almost 45 per cent of the population in and around Boota Mandi comprises Dalits, giving it a Congress-AAP tilt among them in these impending polls. The Akali and the BJP have supporters among the traders too, thus making the floating vote critical. 바카라�Earlier, I had eight workers, now I have two. I could not afford to pay them Rs 1,000 each when there바카라�s no business coming my way,바카라� says Akali supporter Chandrakumar Mahey, who runs a leather business which has all but stopped functioning since demonetisation.

Most units here have sent their workers, largely Dalits, back to UP, with assurances of reemployment later. In Mahey바카라�s case, the support for SAD is also incumbent on him, for his brother, is set to contest on an Akali ticket. 바카라�If my brother is with Akali, so am I. Go to any shop here and you바카라�ll see. Nobody likes Kejriwal,바카라� he declares vehemently.

바카라�Once money re-enters the system, notebandi woes will be over. The poor are getting poorer and the rich richer, but if we face any problems under Akali rule, we will take the issue to the government to get it resolved. That is how it works,바카라� he says.

Wary of the AAP바카라�s bold entry, there바카라�s always the possibility of SAD asking its cadres to switch votes to the Congress, or creating situations where Congress sco­res in constituencies where SAD is not well placed to beat AAP. The Congress not only has supporters in Punjab but also has a more comfortable relationship with SAD, whereas the AAP might try to prove its credibility by pursuing a campaign against the corrupt in power. The youngest claimant to political power in Punjab, brandishing its jhadoo, has the aged warhorses reaching for an old tactical ploy.

By Pragya Singh in Punjab