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Post-election we will emerge stronger: Romesh Bhandari

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, APRIL 20. From Raj Bhawan to rural areas of the country's politically most important State -- Uttar Pradesh-- Romesh Bhandari has come a long way since he joined active politics. And now with the backing of Western Uttar Pradesh's strong farmer leader, Chaudhary Mahendra Singh Tikait, he hopes to make the presence of his newly-floated Bahujan Kisan Dal (BKD) felt in the Hindi heartland.

Noting that BKD was literally the political wing of Mr. Tikait's Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), Mr. Bhandari said he had formed his party to fight primarily for farmers' rights and development of rural areas that were lying neglected and undeveloped even after 50 years of Independence. "While other parties are there to grab power, we are here to struggle for poor villagers and backward sections of society," declared the BKD chairman.

In this general election, BKD will be fielding 20 candidates, all from Uttar Pradesh, where it hopes to gain from the groundwork party workers have done particularly in rural areas. "We are also supporting about two dozen candidates who have been raising the voice of farmers and working in rural areas. These include the former Prime Minister, Chandrashekhar, the Communist leader, Subhashini Ali, and a few Congress candidates," said Mr. Bhandari, clarifying that under no circumstance they could support the Bharatiya Janata Party candidates as the BKD does not believe in its policies.

He disclosed that his party also tried to negotiate with the Congress for an alliance in Uttar Pradesh, but the latter refused to accept its stake on even six seats so they decided to contest the elections on their own. "Today, people might not be taking us seriously but post-elections we are going to emerge stronger. We want to stand for the farmers' cause not only in Parliament but also in State Assemblies and form a strong pro-farmer lobby. Our movement will lead to the political awakening and awareness of the rural masses," asserted the BKD chairman.

According to Mr. Bhandari, who himself is not contesting polls as "having served as a Governor it would not be morally correct", he left his erstwhile party - Janata Dal (Secular) - where he was the party vice-president, and formed BKD to make a foothold in the North. "JD(U) is now primarily a South-based party to which people in the Hindi heartland are not able to associate themselves. So, to fill this void, I had to launch the new party," he added.

Taking a dig at the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government's claim of "India Shining", the BKD leader said India was not shining as a majority of its citizens were crying with hunger, poverty and unemployment. "India lives in its villages where the situation is pathetic," he said, adding that it does not mean that only NDA Government was to be blamed for it.

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