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SAD promises: Why Badals' doles for NRIs unlikely to win them votes in Punjab

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Harmeet Shah Singh
Harmeet Shah SinghJan 26, 2017 | 14:28

SAD promises: Why Badals' doles for NRIs unlikely to win them votes in Punjab

On a chilly January morning, residents nestle together under the shed of a makeshift podium as the rain pour down on their open-air public meeting.

They huddle around the speakers. Some sit cross-legged, some on chairs and some stand patiently as local leaders deliver long speeches attacking the state government.

Unlike rich pockets in metro cities, this prosperous village of Samrari in Jalandhar district is vibrantly active in election campaign.

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Almost every other family of this hamlet surrounded by lush green fields has an NRI somewhere on the planet.

But Wednesday's turnout of Samrari's inhabitants for a political meeting on a cold winter morning suggested voters across the economic spectrum of Punjab's hinterlands have already mobilised for the February 4 Assembly elections.

A strong mood for a change was palpable in this village of NRI families on a day the ruling Badals promised to acquire one lakh acres of land overseas for Punjabi emigrates if voted to power again.

"Drugs, unemployment and, above all, the (2015) desecration of Guru Granth Sahib are major issues," complained Bhupinder Singh, a young farmer.

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From a traditional Panthak family, farmer Bhupinder Singh, 30, has switched loyalty from the Shiromani Akali Dal to Arvind Kejriwal's AAP.

Singh comes from what is referred to as a committed Panthak vote bloc of the Shiromani Akali Dal.

His father and forefathers were supporters of the SAD since it came into being in 1920.

This bloc of the Panthaks is mostly composed of moderate, devout Sikhs who would regard the Shiromani Akali Dal as the guardian of their top religious institutions and sacred heritage.

In the past few years though, said Singh, his family severed its age-old bond with the SAD led by the Badal dynasty.

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Former SGPC general secretary Sukhdev Singh Bhaur, (centre-standing), during Queen Elizabeth's visit in 1997. Also seen in the photo are Akali leader Parkash Singh Badal and then SGPC chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra. (Photo courtesy: Sukhdev Singh Bhaur)

Drug trade, he lamented, had peaked in Punjab. "And unemployment is pushing the youth to addiction," said the 30-year-old farmer, wearing a flowing beard and a small kirpan, the emblems of formally initiated Sikhs called Amritdharis.

Angry with the Congress for Operation Blue Star and over 1984 massacre, Singh's family had no other choice but to back the SAD in 2012 despite what he called was mounting disaffection with the Akalis.

But two years later, they discovered an alternative when Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) arrived in Punjab.

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Former SGPC general secretary Sukhdev Singh Bhaur (second-left) with Arvind Kejwrial at the former's home in Punjab's Banga when the Panthak leader joined AAP on January 17. (Photo courtesy: Sukhdev Singh Bhaur)

And numerous incidents of the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib in the Akali-governed state in 2015, said Singh, disillusioned his family completely with the SAD.

"If Guru Granth Sahib is not safe in Punjab, that too under the Akali government, what else is left to say," moaned Singh, pushing hey into a manual cutter in his livestock yard.

Some meters away, a veteran Akali, Sukhdev Singh Bhaur, could be seen campaigning under Kejriwal's AAP banner.

Bhaur, 60, is a former general secretary and a former acting-president of the SGPC, the top Sikh religious administration controlled by the Akalis.

"The switch (to AAP) was not easy. It was like shedding my skin," he says.

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Panthak leaders like Bhaur believe the Badals manipulated Sikhism’s high temporal authorities for pardoning Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Raheem in 2015 "without him apologising "on his own" for allegedly dressing up like Guru Gobind Singh, an act considered highly blasphemous in the faith.

Sikh protests forced the clergy to reverse their pardon, but the political damage couldn't be undone.

"There were more than 80 incidents of desecration the same year. Yet, there was no firm action. On the contrary, false allegations were levelled against innocent Sikhs," said Bhaur, echoing sentiments of various Sikh groups opposed to the Badals.

The ruling family denies the charges.

This month, Kejriwal drove down to Bhaur's home in Banga and inducted him into AAP.

"It was frustrating to remain in a party that couldn't safeguard the Guru Granth Sahib," said the former Akali leader.

He praised Kejriwal for his "vision" and "secular" approach.

"He fully understands the issues — economic, social and cultural — which people of Punjab face," insisted Bhaur. "In particular, he has promised to me that the perpetrators of the desecration would be prosecuted if the Aam Aadmi Party forms the next government."

At village Dhahan near Banga, a young Sikh teacher in an Amritdhari attire stops by a field-side public meeting.

"After what happened in 2015, there's no way for us to vote for the Akalis. Backing the Congress is out of the question," he said, sitting on his cycle. "But don't you see, there's an option now?" the man asked, pointing towards a large Kejriwal banner.

Last updated: January 27, 2017 | 18:00
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