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Is Akali Dal exit from NDA a politically prudent move? | Two Sides With Afrida
Posted
September 28, 2020
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September 28, 2020
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5:47Now PlayingThe farm bills have angered the peasantry in Punjab which is the core vote base of the Akali dal so it’s quite evident that as a matter of political survival, the party chose to dump the alliance in order to retain the voter base. The SAD already seems to have lost its place as the primary opposition in Punjab and now with the AAP also becoming a political force in the state, the party hopes to make bigger gains going alone rather than allying with BJP since that will make it a 4-way contest in 2022 Punjab elections.
The MSP issue is indeed a legitimate issue to peg the revolt against BJP since the government has not been able to come up with a satisfactory response on why MSP does not have legal sanctity in the farm reform laws if the government truly intends to retain it. So there’s a great convergence of timing to abandon alliance with a perfect cause for the Akalis to mount a campaign against the farm laws and be seen championing the farmers cause in Punjab.
What it has lost in the bargain however is a 23 old year NDA alliance of which the Shiromani Akali Dal is the founding member. To break away from the alliance for short term gains with Punjab elections close to 2 years away maybe just temporary muscle-flexing only to conveniently return to fold when time is right. BJP is not even taking the exit seriously. Their only reaction being that the differences can be resolved. So NDA in that sense has not exactly given up on SAD yet. Also while Akalis may claim to be espousing the farmers' cause, it’s actually the commission agents and middlemen who are angered by the new laws more than the poor farmers. The bulk of the new reforms are intended to draw a higher price for the farmer produce which if translated in right spirit may be argued to serve farmers interest to a great deal. For starters, it gives them bigger opportunities to buy and sell their farm produce and removes the existing constraints in the form of state-sponsored Mandi Market. Of course, states would lose revenue in the form of APMC tax but farmers set to gain, so SAD argument on farmer’s interest being crushed is being argued by BJP as false propaganda which may actually even backfire on the Akali dal.
Besides, one cannot lose sight of the fact that the SAD-BJP alliance has been a tried tested formula for over two decades. Even in a four-way contest, splitting the anti-incumbency congress vote three ways unlikely to be the most politically prudent step.
#AkaliDalExitsNDA
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