After drawing a blank in the 2013 Rajasthan Assembly election, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has sent two farmer leaders to the Legislature from constituencies in northern parts of the State, which were held by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The two leaders were at the forefront of peasant struggles launched from Leftist platforms during the BJP rule.
Balwan Poonia, elected from Hanumangarh’s Bhadra seat, and Girdhari Lal Mahiya, who won from Bikaner’s Dungargarh constituency, have consistently fought for farmers’ rights in the State, along with activists of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS). Mr. Mahiya, 60, the Bikaner district president of AIKS, is himself stated to be a debt-ridden farmer.
The three CPI(M) leaders elected to the State Assembly in 2008 — Amra Ram, Pema Ram and Pawan Duggal — who were in the fray this time again, were defeated. Mr. Pema Ram emerged as the runner-up in Sikar’s Dhod constituency, and Shyopat Ram, also the CPI(M)’s candidate, in Sriganganagar’s Raisinghnagar constituency. Both the seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes.
Issue-based
Mr. Poonia and Mr. Mahiya were active in the series of agitations undertaken on issues such as power tariff hike, opening of procurement centres, loan waiver, fair prices for crops, irrigation waters, crop insurance and pension for farmers. Mr. Mahiya had initially refused to contest the polls, citing his financial position, but was fielded by CPI(M) after collecting donations from the public.
Historic contest
After winning with a margin of 23,896 votes, Mr. Mahiya said the “electoral struggle of [the] people” had turned the polls into a historic contest, in which the BJP and Congress had used their resources and spent money exorbitantly. “It was the people’s victory, recognising the three-decade-long struggle waged for their rights,” he said.
Mr. Mahiya had led protests to force the State government to revise minimum support price (MSP) for groundnut and withdraw power tariff hike. Mr. Poonia, 41, had led a 58-day-protest in front of the State Bank of India’s branch in Chain Bari village against the extra interest charged on the Kisan Credit Card loans. The SBI later credited ₹16.52 lakh to 350 KCC accounts.
The CPI(M) fielded its candidates in 28 seats as part of a seven party alliance, Loktantrik Morcha, formed with the Leftist and socialist parties before the Assembly election. However, Congress was the main winner, getting 15 of the 21 seats, in the farmers’ belt of the Shekhawati region where CPI(M) and AIKS had undertaken a prolonged farmers’ agitation last year.
Sikar-based political analyst Ashfaq Kayamkhani said on Saturday that the defeat of CPI(M) State Secretary Mr. Amra Ram in Dantaramgarh would deprive the Assembly of a powerful voice in support of peasants and labourers. “Jat votes were divided and the caste equations did not work in favour of Mr. Ram this time. But he will guide CPI(M) MLAs for pushing the party’s agenda,” he said.
The vote share of smaller parties in the election has increased to 9%, with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leading the pack, having secured six seats. The Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) floated by Independent MLA Hanuman Beniwal has won three seats, while the Bharatiya Vahini Party, established by rebel BJP leader Ghanshyam Tiwari, could not win even a single seat.