Is Tikait using the farmers’ agitation to carve a place for himself in the Assembly or LS polls?
Riding the crest of farmers’ protests, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait is putting in his best efforts to find a firm ground for his political future, if his latest utterances are anything to go by. By saying that the “Government has gone to Kolkata and we will meet it there only”, he has made it clear that he will continue raking the farm laws issue to the BJP’s discomfiture wherever and whenever an opportunity presents itself. This might irk the BJP a bit but it’s certainly no reason for worry as Tikait most likely will not find any resonance in the West Bengal elections unless he gets to share the platform with the State’s big guns or openly sides with the TMC or the Congress against the saffron party. Tikait is up in arms against the Centre and the BJP; however, many a time what is seen on the surface is nothing more than eyewash, especially in politics. An overambitious leader who has had no political career might be used as a “safety valve” by the Centre to defuse the farmers’ anger. The nation witnessed how the Centre, despite all its might, failed to prevent the farmers from storming the Red Fort on the Republic Day. It was only after this incident that the protest’s focus shifted from Punjab’s growers to the cultivators of western Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Haryana, and Tikait acquired the centre stage while the more belligerent farm leaders from Punjab were gradually sidelined. Tikait then went through a gamut of manoeuvres including breaking down during a speech, threatening to hang himself if the farm laws weren’t repealed and of marching to Parliament with 40 lakh tractors, besides making many other inciting comments to keep the protest alive.
The political stint of Tikait — the son of legendary farmer leader Mahendra Singh Tikait who held sway over Jat farmers in western UP and founded the BKU and the Bahujan Kisan Dal — has been rather unsuccessful. He ended up at the sixth spot in the 2007 UP Assembly elections (though he was backed by the Congress) and lost his deposit in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls when he fought on the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) ticket from Amroha. Tikait is basically consolidating his position among Jat voters, the community he banks upon, in western UP. He is probably eyeing the 2022 UP Assembly or the next Lok Sabha elections. However, the jury is still out on whether he will float his own party or contest on another party’s symbol. If he forms his own party, it would be a severe setback to the RLD and the Congress who also count on Jat votes. The BJP naturally would have an advantage as the votes against it would split. On the other hand, seat-sharing may not be easy if he decides to join hands with the RLD or the Congress as the traditional parties will not like him to be in the driver’s seat. As of now, Tikait would like to use the farmers’ protest to get a leg up in his political career. However, the NDA Government’s “pro-corporate” and “anti-farmer” image is unlikely to help the BJP but its strategists would know what it means to win the Hindi heartland.