Has farmers' Delhi protest impacted BJP's performance in recent polls?

Soon after the results of any elections, the hot topic to be discussed over the tea table with friends and family is the performance of each party. And it is so much so when the question is about the party which is ruling at the Centre. But when you turn to the other events in the country, you see the farmers are protesting in the national capital for a long time.

Although there may be no coverage of it in the media but the vigour of the uprising suggests that the farmers are firm on their demands and may soon step up their protests if their demands are not met.

The farmers are protesting and are protesting in heaps for the last six months and we can't let go of this without measuring the impact it may have created on the BJP's performance in the recent assembly elections in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The protests began on November 25 last year, when farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, marched towards the national capital demanding a complete repeal of the legislations, as part of a "Dilli Chalo" campaign. The three farm laws are Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Act, 2020, Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 and Farmers (Empowerment & Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020. The farmers have brought the Centre to its knees.

May be, the farmers have not realised their demands but their stir in a way impacted the BJP performance in the elections. However, the question remains and it is going to be a long debated one whether the farmers' protest indirectly influences other categories of voters and weakens the BJP's support base.

"I cannot really assess the impact. Though it seems BJP has lost elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, it has gained ground in these States, including West Bengal. The key factor here is to consider the impact the BJP is creating on the basic social fabric of India.

BJP has turned out to be an uglier party than the Congress and they are not leaving any stone unturned to grab power. On the top of everything, the way they are handling the Covid pandemic is very bad," said Sriram Surapaneni, a Hyderabad based cement businessman.

"And it is now pretty much evident and visible that their 'once upon a time biggest fans' are turning into their bitter critics. UPA 2's policy paralysis and internal politics had made the way for Modi becoming the PM when he spoke about Development ….but, the real intention and their actual potential could not be hidden for long"— said Mansoor Azher, Dubai-based Indian politics keen observer.

"They just play the blame game--blaming minorities and blaming, the Congress. When one individual or institution is blaming others, then it is just that they are running away from their current responsibility and that is not a good thing to do. When you cannot act in good faith, you blame and confuse and divert the attention away from the need of the hour," said Mohd Imran Ahmed Khan, Management Trainee, Genpact.

"Even in UP, there is talk that the BJP's poor performance in the panchayat elections is because it is grass level elections and directly pertains to the farmers' plight. But you see, in the States, the regional issues work. So, I don't clearly think that it in any way impacted but still nothing can be ruled out," said a TRS leader on condition of anonymity.

Although the impact seems less but there are still traces of solidarity for their cause throughout the country. This, in the long run, may cause damage to the party performance if the farmers' demands are ignored for long.

Now that the Supreme Court had, in March this year, appointed a three- member committee to look into providing legal guarantee to the MSP and other issues, the Central government should go with the recommendations of the committee, which seemingly is working independently.