New Delhi. Claiming that farmers are ‘disillusioned’ with all political parties, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait on Tuesday said that people should use their discretion and vote for the right candidate in the Lok Sabha elections. Refusing to give open support to any political party, Tikait said that when the Model Code of Conduct is in force, he will not even tell his wife whom to vote for, but those who know him (Tikait) already know. Which party or candidate is good for the farmers?
Tikait, in an exclusive conversation with PTI, also claimed that people will not vote for BJP, but the party can still win. He alleged that there was rigging in the elections. He was a key leader of the farmers’ movement of 2020-21 against the three now-repealed agricultural laws. The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader claimed that the BJP is no longer just a political party, it has become a front for big industrialists who want to grab the land of farmers.
Tikait said, “Farmers are disillusioned but they are not in despair.” Asked whether farmers and the Jat community were disillusioned with all the parties including BJP, Congress, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal, he said, “They will cast their vote and come back and join the protest. ” Tikait said that farmers can vote for anyone as per their discretion, but they should remain with the movement.
He said, “NOTA (none of the above) button should not be pressed. “Only those people will press NOTA button who have lost hope.” Asked what advice he had for farmers and his community, the prominent Jat leader said, “We have asked people to vote as per their conscience.” He said, “Vote for the candidate you think is right, who listens to you, and then come back to the movement.”
He said, “Whatever candidates are contesting, we have told them that if you can mobilize 100 tractors and a thousand people 24 hours before the counting of votes in your constituency, you will win. Those who do not have this number will lose.” Tikait said that neither he nor his organization supported BJP in 2014. He said that at that time, BJP, as the main opposition party, had made many promises to the farmers and it was expected that they would bring some changes.
He said, “When any party is in opposition, it raises the voice of the people. When Congress was in power, we had opposed it.” Tikait said, “(Senior BJP leaders) Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, Rajnath Singh participated in our meetings many times. “He even shared the stage with us.”
He said, “The opposition had a big role in pushing the Land Acquisition Act (Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency, Reforms and Rehabilitation Act, 2013). We thought that a better government would come, we did not oppose anyone, we went with the people.”
Asked about the mood of the people in western Uttar Pradesh, he said, “Voting is done on the basis of caste, religion and it is seen who the candidate is…” Western Uttar Pradesh will go to polls in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 19. Voting is to be held in the state. Alleging possible rigging in the elections by the ruling party and the local administration, Tikait said, “This happened in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, they would have won less than 80 seats, but they officially won 255 seats.” .”
He sarcastically said that if someone joins BJP, his victory is guaranteed. He claimed, “They are not able to win more than 65-70 seats in entire Uttar Pradesh. He used ‘one DM (District Magistrate) one seat formula because his party was not going to win.’ Asked if he was talking about tampering of EVMs as alleged by some opposition leaders, Tikait said, “What is the need to tamper with EVMs? “Were EVMs ever re-counted?”
He said that the leader recruitment campaign in BJP is going on in full swing. He claimed, “People are being involved in three ways. In the first, there are people attending breakfast. Who say they want nothing but respect. Others are those who join after lunch, who have to run their businesses.” He quipped, “The third category is of those who join at night, they are forced to join. If the king wants you to come to his side, you will have to go.”
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Tags: BJP, Loksabha Election 2024, Loksabha Elections, Rakesh Tikait
FIRST PUBLISHED: April 16, 2024, 20:28 IST