Dera route fails to take BJP, Badals home
SIRSAHEADQUARTERED DERA SACHA SAUDA HAD DECLARED ITS SUPPORT TO THE SADBJP COMBINE JUST FOUR DAYS BEFORE THE POLLS
When the Sirsaheadquartered Dera Sacha Sauda declared its support to the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) combine with just four days to go for the polling, the Akalis thought it to be a game-changing move.
The SAD leaders reciprocated by announcing to facilitate ‘satsang’ (religious congregation) by the controversial dera head in the state. The move was fraught with dangers from the outset given the decade-long history of friction and fracas between the Sikhs and dera followers and the directive of the Akal Takht against them.
The Akalis suffered a rout due to a strong undercurrent of discontent sweeping the three regions — Malwa, Majha and Doaba. Their 10-year-long rule abounds with stories of arrogance, high-handedness and misuse of power. The alliance’s tally dwindled sharply —a clear indication that the dera’s call to its followers to back the SAD-BJP did not evoke the expected response.
The state is dotted with hundreds of small or big deras, or sects, headed by self-styled godmen with huge following, especially among the Dalits and poor sections. A few like Radha Soami, Dera Sacha Sauda, Dera Sachkhand Ballan, Dera Nurmahal and Damdami Taksal, which hold a considerable sway, are in great demand during polls with political bigwigs wooing them fervently for quick electoral gains. Both Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal paid visits to Dera Radha Soami in Beas and Sachkhand Ballan in the run-up to the elections. Others like Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh, deputy CM Sukhbir Badal and Punjab BJP president Vijay Sampla also did rounds of the deras. The Akalis even fielded Dera Ballan’s men to woo its followers, but both have lost.
No dera except the Dera Sacha Sauda had given a public call to its followers. The dera has 35 lakh followers in Punjab – almost 70% of them in Malwa that alone accounts for 69 seats – with considerable sway in at least 27 assembly segments.
However, the Akalis fared poorly on many of these seats in south Malwa. The newfound bonding, it appears, worked like a double-edged rapier, riling the hardliners and Sikh organisations. The sharp reactions after the dera announced its support reflected the resentment among the Panthic voters. And the Akalis may have to pay more political cost for their gamble in future.