On campaign trail, BJP, JJP leaders face farmers’ ire

BJP and JJP leaders face farmers' anger in Haryana ahead of general elections, sparking confrontations and protests.

Leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) have found themselves at the receiving end of farmers’ anger while touring Lok Sabha constituencies in the Jat heartland in Haryana in the run-up to the general election.

The two parties, which had entered into a post-poll alliance and formed a coalition government in the State in 2019, had parted ways on March 12 this year after the JJP insisted on contesting two seats in the Lok Sabha election, while the BJP was unwilling to spare a single seat. The JJP then announced that it would be contesting all 10 seats on its own.

During their election campaigns, the leaders of both parties are being greeted with black flags and slogans by local villagers and farmer unions. While BJP leaders are being questioned over the use of force against farmers during their year-long agitation against the now-scrapped farm laws in 2021, JJP leaders are targeted over allying with the BJP and then maintaining silence over the stir.

In a video that went viral on social media last week, a group of men can be seen blocking the convoy of JJP leader Dushyant Chautala from entering Hisar’s Nara village in Narnaund sub-division. A young man donning a green turban is seen arguing with the former Deputy Chief Minister, while another man in the crowd, amid hoots and jeers, repeatedly says he won’t be allowed to enter the village.

A few minutes later, Mr. Chautala steps out of his SUV, enters another vehicle parked at a distance, and speeds away, bypassing the village. He faced similar opposition at Gamra and Khanpur Sindhar villages later that day.

In another video, a convoy of vehicles led by JJP national president Ajay Chautala is seen being stopped from entering Bhiwani’s Kungar village in Bawani Khera sub-division amid slogans of “Kisan Ekta Zindabad (Long live farmers’ unity)”. Amid the clamour, a man in the video can be heard accusing Mr. Ajay Chautala of enjoying power for more than four years and never sparing a thought for farmers.

Ranjit Chautala and Ashok Tanwar — the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidates for the Hisar and Sirsa seats, respectively — and former Hisar Lok Sabha MP Brijendra Singh, who has joined the Congress after quitting the BJP, have also been at the receiving end of the farmers’ anger.