Punjab Assembly Polls 2017 - Part IX

A new article popped up in today's newspaper that is worth sharing and reflects the innumerable possibilities that can be anticipated for the upcoming polls. "Factionalism" within the political parties has acquired center stage in the pre-poll debacle to an extent that AAP has drastically reduced its scope for forming the next government in the state and Congress opening a new plethora of possibilities that shapes up the destiny of the state. The Captain-Bajwa clash has brought forward some shocking revelations.

In the race of being projected as the Chief Ministerial candidate by the party, these two leaders have come to the verge of giving a completely different angle to Punjab politics. Capt Amrinder Singh has the support of 30 out of 43 Congress MLA's who want him to lead the party in the upcoming polls whereas Bajwa claims that the number will be reduced to 20 as Captain is looking forward to break-away from Congress and launch his own new party named as PVP (Punjab Vikas Party). Bajwa can't be considered anywhere below when he makes an alarming prophecy about the 2017 elections outcome by saying, "After Bihar poll results which pollsters say BJP will win, Captain will form his PVP. BJP will split from Akalis. Captain will then pullback some legislators that he has loaned to Akalis, bringing Akalis in minority in the state assembly. The BJP will then impose President's rule in Punjab, rule by proxy until October next before declaring elections."

Bajwa's prophecy though has not been acknowledged by Captain or any other bigwigs of Punjab politics but it gave me goose bumps. It  made me nervous and worried on one hand but also hopeful on the other hand. But one thing Bajwa didn't realize before saying it was the AAP factor which is missing in Bihar Assembly polls and is a very prominent factor in Punjab Assembly polls. Also their back-end campaign of tying up with other parties to restrain AAP from forming the next government became more clear to me when the moderator of his FB page added me as a member to the FB group called "Punjab against AAP" where workers of different parties have joined hands against AAP.

On the other hand if we consider the possibility of Captain breaking away from Congress and forming PVP, then that would seem a more viable option than AAP in the interest of Punjab because at this juncture AAP seems too naive to govern Punjab as it is the state with one of the most complicated polities in the country and it shouldn't be left in the hands of novice leaders for governance. It is very certain that Captain will get the support of 20+ congress MLA's if he breaks away but still reaching that magical figure of 59 won't be possible for him alone. It will be possible only if some established leaders from other political parties breakaway from their own parties and join hands with him and also the freshly recruited AAP leaders having the potential to fetch seats breakaway and join him. My gut feeling says that if at all PVP comes into existence, the first two leaders to break away from BJP and join him would be the Sidhu Couple out of their family ties they share with Captain and more importantly out of the alleged humiliation and harassment they have faced from the SAD-BJP alliance.

Now that would be an interesting turnaround in Punjab politics as this couple can not only provide the star power and charisma to any party that they associate themselves with but they can also ensure institutional loyalty and youth power and can actually sweep a chunk of youth vote bank that has a vital role to play in the upcoming polls. Another possibility that can be adopted by the SAD to counter them would be to project Harsimrat Kaur Badal, a female leader, a national figure by virtue of her being the Union Cabinet Minister also the daughter-in-law of the Badal clan, as the Chief Ministerial candidate but that would violate the patriarchal structure of SAD and could hurt the "Alpha-male" images of Sukhbir and Majithia. Hence, SAD has the possibility of seeing a white-wash in 2017 if they don't do anything extraordinary.

I promise to keep pouring in more articles on the subject with the hope that they're touching people's lives and making a positive difference in the political space of my home state.

Punjab Assembly Polls 2017 - Part VIII (Baahu-bali culture and the underworld)

This is a perspective that most of the intellectuals and policy makers try to look over but the role of muscle power is indispensable and inseparable from any political elections in India. In other north Indian states like Bihar, UP, Jharkhand etc. "Baahu-bali" is a term which is commonly used for muscle men who are not only bullies or goons themselves but they are backed by a huge army of musle-men who are always ready to man-handle any situation or person that comes in the way of their personal or political ambitions. Though there is no such official designation as "Baahu-bali" in Punjab or any other state but these Baahubalis have strongly emerged as the extra-constitutional authorities by virtue of their musle-power. These muscle-men do not only have a huge number of supporters but also a bulk of arms and and ammunition that they procure by fair and false means.

Call it a paradox of our democracy or the height of misfortune of our country that these Baahubalis are highly respected and feared by not only the common man but also top-notch government officials, capitalists and celebrities. In some parts of India, the extent of their power has gone upto the extent of entering a bureaucrat's office without his permission and man-handling him. Now as we move ahead with this article I will quote some of the most notorious muscle men and underworld dons of Punjab who have been made news in the recent past.

Jaggu Bhagwanpuria recently nabbed by Punjab police has been dodging the police department for a very long time. In his late 20's, this young man who has chosen the wrong way is considered to be one of the most dangerous criminals of the underworld in the state. Though denying the presence of any underworld or illegal trafficking in Punjab would be like living in denial. Some of the insiders even claim that he enjoys the patronage of the Akali Minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia, though the charges have not been proven and the evidence is yet to enter the public domain.

Another notorious case that shook the whole state was the brutal murder of the Gangster Sukha Kahlon. Few months back, after he was arrested, his rival gangsters intercepted the police lorry in which he was being taken for the judicial remand and fired more than 60 rounds at him and left his corpse beyond recognition. This act of terror put a huge question mark on the Home Ministry of the state held by the Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal about the deteriorating law & order situation in the state.

Though both these young gangsters have proven the huge impact of the underworld on Punjab, none of them can be called as "Baahu-balis" as Jaggu's arrest isn't considered to have effected his patron minister much, neither Sukha Kahlon's death is considered as a political assassination as it was an outcome of the gang-war. Ministers have many gangsters like them at their disposal any time. But there are some muscle-men who have been in the mainstream politics and are very much open with their political affiliations. Such muscle men have a public persona which somehow out-weighs their illegal actions and establishments. Though I'm not trying to glorify gangsters or muscle-men in any way but I'm only trying to highlight the facts.

Muscle-men also have their area of influence. Some of them are famous only in a locality or a city. e.g. there are many muscle men in my area who have a suffix "pehalwan" with their names and they are proud to be called as an XYZ pehelwan like Shoki pehalwan, Nindi pehalwan etc are the famous pehalwans of my area who are affiliated to Congress. Another famous Pehalwan of my city, Amritsar is Gurdeep Pehalwan:

Gurdeep Pehalwan is a Congress loyalist and can be given due credit for Capt. Amrinder Singh's victory over Arun Jaitley in Lok Sabha elections 2014. Jaggu's arch rival and his supporters have been threatened by Jaagu and his gang-members on various occasions. He took a breath of relief with Jaggu's arrest. How do I know all this ?? Their rivalry made news on multiple occasions and many local newspapers covered it up including Amritsar Tribune.

Now the person I'm about to mention has somehow achieved the status of a "Baahu-bali" as his persona has transcended the power of many office-bearers who are holding high constitutional offices like Ministries in the state governments. Kanwar Pehalwan is an entrepreneur, businessman, leader, musle-man, philanthropist etc etc.

Though I haven't researched much on Kanwar Pehalwan, he is considered as one of the most powerful muscle man of North India who is also considered to have links with Dawood Ibrahim and has a network scattered across the country. People like him defy all the theoretical definitions of "Power-elites" of "Economic-elites". Some photos of him which are present in the Google search results make you imagine the extent of his power.

3 Akali Ministers i.e. Dhindsa, Majithia and Ranike can be seen standing on his sides and projecting him as a central figure of the event. It is worth mentioning of another famous "Bijli Pehalwan" of Amritsar who has a very famous temple and an "Akhara" (wrestling arena) constructed in the most posh Lawrence Road area of the city. "Bijli Pehalwan" was considered as one of the greatest political muscle men in the yester-years and was considered as a close aide to the then Prime Minister of the country Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. Though Bijli Pehalwan is no more and his fourth or fifth generation is living a highly luxurious life as they are considered among the economic elites of the city. Though none of his descendants have become wrestlers or pehalwans but majority of them have resorted to entrepreneurship following the inheritance of the huge fortune that Bijli pehalwan provided them with.

Now, I'm sure that after reading this article many of the youngsters may find it very alluring to become gangsters or "Baahu-balis" and aspire to add a suffix like "pehalwan" to their names. In fact, I too find it tempting to add pehalwan to my name and become "Harman Pehalwan" or "Punnu Pehalwan" but that is not what I choose to be nor I can afford to make such a choice. Because life is not all about money or muscle power. I think my purpose is different, hence I need to make different choices but yes.... 

The satisfaction of highlighting some unsaid phenomenons that govern the Punjab polity stays with me and verbalizing them in an appropriate way seems really satisfying and fulfilling.