 Hello and welcome to NewsClick. Today we are going to discuss about the upcoming elections of Punjab. To discuss the issue we have with us, Prof. Chamanlal. So, welcome to NewsClick, sir. We have seen that Punjab has become a triangular fight now between Arm-Army Party, Congress and Shivamali Akali Dal and BJP. So, what do you think, what would be the outcome of this triangular fight? Actually, it's very difficult to say at the moment. It looked like about few months ago as if AAP has a sort of edge over others. But few months, you know, happenings within the AAP and outside the AAP has somewhat changed the situation. So, at the moment it's difficult to say whether Congress has a friend or AAP has a friend. But still it looks like AAP has slight edge over others. So, you mean to say that Shivamali Akali Dal and BJP are not coming back technically. It's fight between Congress and AAP. Actually, out of this election BJP as single party would be the biggest sufferer in my opinion. Because Akali's may come with certain seats. But BJP may not be able to, you know, get... Last time they were 12. Still last time they had got 19 out of 23. But this time they are hoping to retain 12. But I don't think that they will be able to retain that. They may get reduced to 3, 4, 5 or whatever. So, what do you think, what's the reason behind this setback to BJP especially? No, what happens is BJP's main, you know, area of influence is towns and with the, you know, small businessmen etc. In both these things, AAP has cut down them and he will Congress has revived certain influence over them. And this demonetization and all that, that will certainly, you know, hit them. But if we look at the Chandigarh elections recently, the local body elections, BJP has gained lot of seats there. They actually won in Chandigarh. But Chandigarh is different than the other part of Punjab. Chandigarh is not as part of Punjab as yet. Although it's considered to be, it should have been a part of Punjab. Chandigarh is a different kind of thing. Chandigarh is a middle class area and moreover, you know, influenced by media a lot. And then generally what happens in local elections, the ruling party always has an advantage. So, that's how they have got. But in other parts of Punjab, they do not have that much kind of sympathy or anything. So what do you think, what are the core issues on which these elections will be fought? As we should have been attended to. The biggest thing, although the drug problem is getting this kind of centre force. But drug problem is a symptom. Drug problem is not the root problem. Root problem is unemployment among youth and frustration among youth not having any positive outlet for life. And that takes them to drugs. So nobody out of all these three parties, none of them is paying much attention to that. And second most crucial problem is presentries in detainees. There's an agrarian crisis. There are presentries in serious crisis. Actually, Punjab is the, I think, number two or three state where every day presentries are committing suicide. Every day. I don't know how many people know about it because National Peoples are not even published their papers. But Punjab papers every day on front page, there is a news of one or two presentries committing suicide because of indebtedness. Now people, you know, these political parties have become just used to it. They have a kind of cliché about it. And none is paying any serious attention. And this government, central government particularly and even the earlier government also. They're so insensitive to the presentry that none of them, and AAP was expected to focus on this issue. But AAP is also now for the last few months, whatever they're doing in Punjab, that is not much different from what a college or Congress or BJP is doing. All same kind of floor-crossing, getting people from a college to AAP or getting from Congress to AAP or even from BJP to AAP. But there is no kind of moral or political standards being maintained by all three parties. So if we look at the pooch condition today, it looks like Congress is the strongest force among all these three parties. So it's merely anti-incombency or something else also. You see, anti-incombency is certainly there because the last 10 years, they have, you know, kind of looted Punjab. They have used government to promote their business interests. And it's a very sad part of the thing. And this is perhaps the worst in Punjab. I don't think that in other places. Maybe in Karnataka, Adinagumleti kind of people have been doing this. But here, the whole, you know, the hotel industry, the transport industry, this being Badal's family business, which is being coated with the states, which they're holding the power. And that is one part which people feel so upset and offended. So when we talk about all these three parties, what we forget is that BSP had a strong presence in Punjab and also the left parties. Do you think there will be any important force? No, actually BSP could never become strong in Punjab. In one election in 1992, when major parties, you know, major one party, Pauli's boycott the election. That was the only year when there was just 31 or so, you know, voting. That time they have won about nine MPs. But other than that, and there was one election in which they won about two MPs also, two or three MPs. Just one or two elections. Other than that, and that time Kashi Ram was alive. Kashi Ram actually had won from Punjab once. This people's lives are getting to such a degrading, you know, and there the left should have been the people's voice. But in Punjab, sadly, left is almost standalone. There are four parties, you know, small level, you know, CPM, one supplementary group of CPM, which is now called as RMPI. Then CPI, then CPI ML, Liberation. These four parties had a kind of front. But now in this election, the four parties have been sustained. And these three parties are together. ML is not part of that. There are certain left groups, which generally do not participate. They are campaigning for Noota. So they are mass peasant groups, which are helping the peasantry in crisis. But that is also a very limited kind of, you know, what they do is Barthi exam union. There are two or three groups, what is Ekka, what is Uraha, and they are very radical groups. And what they do when there are some peasant commits suicide, they build a huge movement, and they get a leave for their family five times a month. That's the only way they are trying to help them. But in elections, they keep a loop, or they are, you know, going for Noota. But that is the mass-based groups, which should have been, you know, approached by the left front. And these four should have been together. They should have tried to get along some separate groups, which have a progressive background, that is, like Patellas MP, Dr. Dharmil Gandhi, etc. They should have formed a broad-based front. And they should have consented upon to have a presence in the assembly. Even the smaller number of people are there. That should have been given them certain credibility. If they have got five, seven MLAs in the assembly, and they have been able to raise, you know, peasantry issues, youth issues. That should have made people feel that, yes, they are our real, you know, hunderd or something, real sympathizers. That's all the time we have for today, sir, and we'll be coming back to you on such issues. Thanks a lot. Okay. Thank you for watching NewsClick and keep following us.