‘Kejriwal will remove Bhagwant Mann from CM’s post after June 4’

Two days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in Ludhiana that the Bhagwant Mann-led government in Punjab would not last long after the Lok Sabha poll, Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Wednesday said AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal would remove Mann from Chief Minister’s post after June 4. He said the Mann government faces a threat from its own MLAs and Kejriwal. In an exclusive interview with Nitin Jain, Jakhar maintained that he was in support of a renewed alliance on new terms with the BJP’s old ally SAD before this election. Excerpts:

The BJP’s performance in Punjab will surprise all. We have provided an alternative to the constituents. The AAP has to deal with its failed promises while the Congress is no more in the reckoning and is guided by petty leaders and their petty politics.

Home Minister Amit Shah had in Ludhiana on May 26 said the Bhagwant Mann government would not last long after the Lok Sabha poll. How do you see this statement?

Home Minister Amit Shah only showed Arvind Kejriwal the mirror. The AAP government will soon fall under the weight of its own misdeeds and failed promises. They could not keep their few Rajya Sabha MPs together, how can they keep 92 together? Their MLAs are ducking for cover, failing to walk the talk. You will see that Kejriwal will remove Mann from the CM’s post after June 4.

Do you see any threat to the Mann government in Punjab following BJP’s return to power at the Centre?

The Mann government in Punjab faces a threat from its own MLAs and Kejriwal. It will fall under its own weight of corruption, lawlessness and betrayal of promises made to the people.

Do you see any impact of AAP supremo Kejriwal being out on bail for electioneering?

Till the time Kejriwal was in jail, there may have been some miniscule sympathy for him. But now, since he’s out of jail and campaigning in sweltering 48 degree Celsius and claiming health reasons for seeking his interim bail extension, he has lost both sympathy and credibility. Besides, they talk about women’s dignity, but look at the way they insulted, beat up and misbehaved with their own MP Swati Maliwal. Constituents don’t forget misdeeds so easily.

Were you personally in favour of or against the BJP once again joining hands with its old ally SAD, talks on which happened before this election?

Yes, I was in support of a renewed alliance on new terms with the SAD. It was to uphold and maintain the social bond. But in the end, the decision to fight the election independently had its own merits. The SAD will have to reinvent itself with a credible face of leaders who can make constituents confident and secure.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spelt out his vision about Punjab in a recent interview to The Tribune. How do you see it?

Every word by PM Modi in his interview to The Tribune is well-calibrated, avant-garde and thought-provoking. He has spelt out various pro-farmer initiatives underlining his resolve for MSP to farmers. His vision is for a ‘viksit’ Punjab.

You come from a family of progressive farmers but you have not been able to broker peace between farmers and the BJP as yet.

The people of Punjab are nursing aspirational dreams. A durable remedy is needed to bail out farmers reeling under agrarian distress. MSP is being provided with a commitment, but this is not the solution in itself. Farmers today need ways and means to augment their income that could mitigate their suffering. A way out is only through the process of dialogue which the Centre has done multiple times. Farmer leaders cannot hold the system to ransom. It will only turn farmers and people against them. The AAP government cannot solve the issues. In fact, it is instrumental in blocking farmer interests like in the case of Kisan Samman Nidhi cards, where farmers have been deprived every year of Rs 900 crore due to the lackadaisical approach of the Mann government in Punjab. The BJP is committed to addressing farmer issues holistically.

With farmers not even allowing most of BJP candidates to enter villages and SAD no longer by your side, how are you managing vote and support in rural areas in the agrarian state?

We have maintained that our democratic right to campaign is being hindered by farmer unions but the genuine farmers can see through all this. How can they ignore the farmer-friendly beneficiary schemes provided by the BJP at the Centre in the past 10 years? Our outreach programmes are reaching even beyond villages. Farmers will see through the smokescreen created by certain self-styled farmer unions and will vote for the BJP. Farmers need to understand that a solution to agrarian distress and issues surrounding it can only be addressed by the Modi government at the Centre, which is returning to power on June 4.

How many seats are you confident of winning in Punjab and the country this election?

The BJP’s performance in Punjab will surprise all. We have provided an alternative to the constituents. The AAP has to deal with its failed promises while the Congress is no more in the reckoning and is guided by petty leaders and their petty politics. The Punjab Congress leaders consider Hindus second-class citizens and the people will not forgive the party for playing dirty politics.

What are the main issues on which you are contesting this election in Punjab?

This election is about saving the ‘nasal’ (generation) and ‘fasal’ (agriculture). Leaders of both the AAP and Congress walk with a taint of sleaze and drugs. Law and order has collapsed with extortions on the rise. Maintaining amity is the need of the hour. Drug menace is spreading its tentacles and has gone unimpeded. This election is also a fight against the divisive agenda of the Congress and AAP.

The BJP is contesting elections in Punjab alone for the first time in over 23 years after parting ways with its age-old ally SAD. Do you see it as an opportunity?

As I said, this election has brought challenges and opportunities for the BJP. While we had well-oiled machinery in every part of Punjab, our reach was limited to constituencies that we contested as SAD’s ally. Due to the alliance, perhaps, we were not able to rise to our full potential, which is now happening. Today, we have credible faces in the poll fray. We have expanded our base of constituents across Punjab. The BJP is being looked at as a serious contender providing a dependable alternative in the state with a national leadership appeal.

You, Captain Amarinder Singh and several other big names from Congress had joined the BJP in Punjab. What prospects do you see for the saffron party in the border state?

We are putting our best foot forward. The upsurge in BJP’s popularity in Punjab is indicative of the times to come. Not just this election, we are firming our base for the 2027 Assembly elections.