Unlike 2020-21, why BJP is unruffled by farmers’ protests this time around

The BJP was forced to do a U-turn in 2021 when the year-long farm protests at Delhi’s borders forced it to withdraw three contentious agricultural laws that had triggered the demonstrations. Though farmers from Punjab, UP, and Haryana are again on the march towards the national capital, the ruling party is not worried about its political impact.

BJP leaders admitted that the protests made for “bad optics” and could damage it in Punjab but said they were optimistic about “counter-polarisation” in the state along with Haryana and west Uttar Pradesh. BJP functionaries argued that the party would gradually “expose the illogicality of the demand for a law to guarantee minimum support price (MSP) for all crops”.

“When Parliament session is over, the Lok Sabha is about to be dissolved, and elections are to be announced, there is no logic in making a demand for a law. It would have made sense had they protested after the new government was formed,” said a BJP leader. Another BJP insider said, “If some elements in the protest are wearing the mask of being farmers, they should remove it and state their real agenda.”

Back during the 2020-’21 protests, the BJP leadership was nervous about the farm protests as it was worried about its impact in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Assembly elections. Top BJP leaders assumed the demonstrations could adversely affect its Jat support base in west UP. At the time, the BJP top brass told leaders from Haryana, Punjab, and UP that “disaffection among Jats” could affect at least 40 Lok Sabha seats in these states.

This time, the BJP’s confidence about minimising the impact of the protests comes from the fact that the Jayant Chaudhary-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has joined hands with it. “The Bharat Ratna