Being the self-declared “life-long” ally of the BJP, the Akali leadership today stands isolated from the resurgent national opposition which has started gathering popular support due to the growing anti-incumbency sentiment against the Modi-led government. The latest example is the Akali Dal’s stand on land acquisition issue.

Claiming to be the ‘watchdog’ of farmers causes, the Badals termed the Congress’ recent impressive rally in Delhi held against the NDA government’s proposed land acquisition law as a “political gimmick.” The rally which also marked Rahul Gandhi’s re-launching after his nearly two month long sabbatical, was hugely attended.

Questioning the logic behind organizing the rally, the chief minister Badal said “the country’s farmers are facing a number of problems because of the anti-farmer policies of successive Congress governments at the Centre over the past 67 years”.

The Congress is, no doubt, responsible for some of the problems farmers are facing. But Badal’s contention would have carried conviction had he come out with data of the help, especially on the issue of Minimum Support Prices, provided to farmers by the previous Congress governments, particularly during Manmohan Singh’s ten-year premiership, and that provided by the Akali-BJP governments since the late nineties. His charge would have carried weight had he also expressed his views on the Modi government’s pro-corporate policies which are one of the motivating factors behind the proposed controversial land acquisition law.

Besides these issues, the Akali leadership also must unambiguously declare its stand on suicides lately being committed by farmers and also who it considers is responsible for creating the situation which is forcing farmers to take their own lives. The latest tragedy was the suicide by the comparatively well-off Rajasthan farmer Gajendra Singh during the AAP’s April 22 Delhi rally held against the land acquisition Bill.

Terming the suicide as “the most unfortunate and shocking incident, the chief minister Parkash Singh Badal demanded thorough enquiry from appropriate agency”. Being a partner in the Modi-led government, the ruling Akali leadership, however, was required to adopt an effective pro-active policy which could prevent such tragedies to occur.

The tragedy reminds me what Sahir Ludhianvi wrote in one of his sarcastic pieces “yeh kiska lahu hai, kaun mara, aiy rehbr-e-mulk-o-quam bata”.

Besides its lackadaisical stand on land acquisition issue, two other factors responsible for pushing the Punjab’s ruling leadership into the dock are: worsening of the government’s financial health which is now in a terminal state; and, failure to implement most of its election promises for providing relief, especially to the vulnerable sections of the society.

Punjab is virtually on the brink of bankruptcy. Despite Badals repeated pleas to the prime minister to bail Punjab out of the serious problems it is facing, especially on the financial front, the Modi government has either rejected some of the demands or maintained a sphinx-like silence on others.

The Centre’s unhelpful attitude in rejecting Punjab’s request for a special economic package needs to be seen in the light of what Modi had recently said “Politics says we should waste public exchequer, distribute it and receive public praise. This politics has destroyed the country”.

During the UPA rule, a high-level official committee had recommended special help for the economically distressed states of Punjab, West Bengal and Karala. But failure to implement the recommendations may not only further deepen the state’s financial crisis but also give fresh push to the anti-incumbency sentiment against the Akali-BJP government and also the Modi government.

The second factor which has created problems for the Akali-BJP government is its failure to fulfill most of its 2007 and 2012 promises including those to provide relief to the vulnerable sections of the people. Not to speak of implementing the promised doubling of the old age and widow pension, the non-payment of even existing paltry Rs.250 p.m. old age pension for the past six months forced Som Nath, a 83-year old rikshaw-puller of Dhilwan (near Kapurthala) to set himself ablaze last week.

Similarly, most other promises which remain unfulfilled include: employability allowance of Rs.1,000 to unemployed youth belonging to the economically weaker sections; provision of free laptops to all class 12 students of government schools; and, raising of shagun scheme amount to Rs.31,000. Newspapers daily carry report about the worrisome state of social and welfare sectors, particularly education and health institutions and their infrastructure. The situation reminds me what an Urdu poet had said, “woh vaida hi kya jo wafa ho gaya.”

The latest factor which may erode the Akali Dal’s support base, particularly among farmers and BJP’s among traders, is the official agencies undue delay in procuring wheat and the Centre’s imposing value cut for the rain-damaged wheat. The delay in procurement and non-lifting of stocks from the mandis has prompted farmers, arhtiyas and labourers to hold joint protests and blocking road and rail traffic at many places.

The main reason behind the Akali-BJP government’s failure to implement its promises is the acute financial crisis caused by its populist schemes, particularly free power for farmers, the Akali Dal’s main support base. Eating away nearly Rs.6,000 crore a year it is mainly benefiting the rich farmers and depleting soil’s fertility and underground water resources.

The irony of the situation is that while the state’s virtually empty treasury has hit the common man, our law makers have granted themselves hefty increases in emoluments and perks!

The foregoing negative factors will play a crucial role in deciding the electoral fortunes of the ruling Akali-BJP alliance in 2017 elections. Introspection coupled with remedial measures often proves to be game-changer. Whether this will happen in the case of the Akali-BJP allies raises a question mark. (IPA Service)