ECI Adds 10.7M New Voters

Indian citizens voted in the fifth phase of the general elections on 20 May. The provisional voters in 49 constituencies across eight states is 60.09% but absolute numbers are not yet declared. In earlier phases, final percentages released days after polling day have seen large jumps (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 18, Story 2). The role of the Election Commission of India (ECI) in conducting free and fair polls is under the scanner. According to one media house, updated ECI numbers show a jump of 10.7M voters after 4 phases. That amounts to 28K additional voters for each of the 379 constituencies. On 10 May, a civic rights group, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) filed an application in the Indian Supreme Court asking it to direct the ECI to publish final voting numbers immediately after each phase of election. This was the norm in all previous elections, also a press conference after every phase. Both have not been fulfilled this time. The Supreme Court has sought a response from the ECI within a week and will hear the matter on 24 May, before the sixth phase. Publishing the numbers is actually easy. Party representatives at every polling booth receive a signed Form 17C with actual numbers. This can simply be compiled and uploaded, but now on the ECI website even old data has been wiped out. In other election-related news, Indian PM Narendra Modi filed his nomination from Varanasi, but his mimic Shyam Rangeela, contesting against Modi, was denied his nomination. Modi will be addressing rallies in Panjab on 23-24 May. Farmer unions have resolved to protest at the rallies.

On 13 May, Indian PM Narendra Modi’s pictures and videos splashed across the media. He was wearing a turban, cooking lentils, and serving in a langar (free kitchen) at Takht Patna Sahib. Bihar is a key state in the 2024 elections, but this was Modi’s attempt to woo the Sikhs. On 12 May, Delhi BJP leaders organized a pro-Modi Sikh youth motorcycle rally (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 19, Story 5). On 16 May, Modi gave a pre-planned interview – in a decade he has never held an open press conference – in which he said, ‘If an analysis is done of the work done by this government and previous governments to address the issues of the Sikh community, he would score 100/100. It would be better if a Punjabi channel or Punjabi people analyze what have been the basic issues of the Sikh community of this country and which government has addressed those issues.’ He spoke of the respect he has towards Sikhs and praised their contribution to the nation, ending with apparent humility, ‘Whether they accept me or not, what can I say about that?’ These attempts to woo the Sikhs were mocked on social media; Modi was reminded of attacks on farmers. Daler Mehndi, Hardeep Singh Puri, and former Haryana CM ML Khattar came in to praise Modi’s work with the Sikh community. BJP has fielded Sikhs in Panjab who face social boycott. In West Delhi, Sikhs are silent about their choices. Political parties are afflicted with selective amnesia when it comes to Sikh issues. While BJP talks about the 1984 genocide, it does not address the farmers’ protests. In 2014, AAP made its debut in Panjab over 1984, but now, in alliance with INC at the national level, no longer mentions it. Sikhs are 1.8% of the Indian population, but a visible and vibrant minority.

The Sikh-dominated SAD political party, an earlier ally of ruling BJP, released its election manifesto, which seeks the transfer of Kartarpur Sahib from Pakistan to India through mutual land exchange between the two countries. ‘The party promises to work with the Government of India so that the requirement for passports for pilgrims to Kartarpur Sahib be dropped and be replaced with a simple permit system,’ added Sukhbir Badal. Badal said he is committed to re-opening the India-Pakistan trade corridor through the Attari-Wagah checkpoint in Amritsar, and Hussainiwala in Ferozepur and Fazilka. He said his party will renew the fight for the inclusion of Chandigarh and other Panjabi-speaking areas left out of the state. ‘Chandigarh was declared to belong to Panjab and was to remain a Union Territory for only five years. We will fight the Center's betrayal of Punjab on this with renewed force.’ However, SAD is not even contesting the Chandigarh seat in this election. The decision comes after SAD’s Chandigarh candidate Hardeep Singh Saini quit the party on 6 May and joined AAP. With SAD out of the picture, the stage is now set for a showdown between INC’s Manish Tewari and BJP’s Sanjay Tandon. Terming the current governance and administrative structure in Chandigarh as a nightmare, INC candidate Tewari said, ‘The fundamental problem is that the administrative structure of Chandigarh was designed for a period of five years. The administrative structure was supposed to lapse in 1971. Now, that has got perpetuated into perpetuity. You have a situation whereby Chandigarh can move from a union territory to a city state.’ Chandigarh as a city state – on the lines of New Delhi – is part of Tewari’s manifesto.

On 21 May, the farmers protesting on the interstate borders of Panjab and Haryana suspended their 37-day Rail Roko (train blockade). On 22 May farmers marked 100 days of their indefinite protest and will now, in addition to the Shambhu and Khanauri borders, move to the homes of Panjab BJP leaders. While the govt. has not responded to the demand to release the three activists arrested without charges, the train blockade was causing considerable distress in Panjab, especially among the trader class. The Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal gave a 10-day ultimatum to the state govt. asking them to resolve the stalemate. ‘Farmers have been sitting on Shambhu railway station tracks and even on Shambhu and Khanauri borders of Punjab-Haryana since February. This has taken a toll on the business of Panjab’s industry. Commuters are inconvenienced. But the Panjab government is not bothered about the issue at all,’ said Sunil Mehra, general secretary of Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal on 18 May. On 15 May, Panjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar questioned farmers on why AAP was not being blockaded. BJP candidate Hans Raj Hans threatened the farmers saying he will teach them a lesson after 2 Jun when polling is over. Farmers are not blocking or disrupting BJP alone; AAP and SAD are also affected. On 15 May, CM Bhagwant Mann wanted to hold a rally at Zira. Farmers protesting against Malbros Distillery objected and the rally had to be canceled. Sukhbir Badal too faced the farmers’ ire and had to cancel his rally in Bathinda. On 21 May, BJP leader and former Haryana home minister Anil Vij accepted responsibility for the tear gassing and shooting that caused blindness, injuries, and death of protesting farmers (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 8, Story 3).

While the Satluj-Yamuna Link Canal is missing in these elections, recently Panjab INC leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira demanded the Panjab govt. issue a white paper on how much quantity of surface (canal) water flows in the canals of the state. Khaira alleged, the state govt. under the influence of AAP leaders from Delhi, is trying to show that Panjab has plenty of surface water. ‘The 600K acre command area is being shown as a non-command area by stating that it now falls under urban areas that do not need irrigation facilities.’ He stated canal water being inflated would weaken the case of Panjab in the Indian Supreme Court. ‘The state government should issue a white paper outlining the actual water situation in the state. Canal water is being denied to orchards in Abohar.’ The Punjab Water Resources department issued a notification on 14 May for the recovery of $38M owed in water tax from six circles. Khaira asked AAP to clarify why it wants to put financial burden on farmers. On 17 May, CM Bhagwant Mann said, ‘When I took the oath, surface water supply was at 21%, presently it is 59%. It will be 70% by October – the end of the paddy season.’ He added that out of the 14,500K tube wells in the state, 600K will shut down when water is available through canals. On 18 May, a civic action group – active in Mattewara and Zira distillery protests – Public Action Committee issued a Green Manifesto for Panjab. 

As of 12 May, wheat procurement has reached 25.30 Metric Ton (MT), compared to 25.68MT in 2023. This falls short of the govt’s procurement target of 37.29MT for this year. In the past, the govt. procured 26.20MT of wheat in 2023, 18.79MT in 2022, and a record 43.34MT in 2021. Procurement in Madhya Pradesh (MP) has decreased by 35% to 4.4MT from 6.8MT but has doubled in Rajasthan (RJ) to 0.7MT from 0.3MT. In Uttar Pradesh the production quadrupled to 0.81MT from 0.18MT. Both MP and RJ offered a bonus of ₹125/quintal on top of the minimum support price (MSP) to encourage farmers to sell wheat. In Panjab (PB), wheat procurement has reached 12.2MT, a 2% increase from last year’s 11.9MT, despite an initial target of 13MT. Haryana (HR) has procured 7.05MT, up 12% from 6.2MT last year. Amid El Niño and the govt. stocks at a 16-year-low, PB and HR have once again contributed 75.5% to Indian wheat stocks. In 2015-16 as well, these two states contributed 75.8%. Till the mid-2000s, PB and HR contributed 90% or more of the wheat for feeding the public distribution system (PDS) and other govt. programs. With the technology spreading to other states, and their govts. also establishing infrastructure for buying grain at MSP from farmers, PB's ratio dipped to roughly 65% by the early 2010s. The decline in procurement is attributed to private players buying wheat and bigger farmers holding onto their stock in anticipation of higher prices (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 19, Story 7).

On 16 May, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal launched a frontal attack on Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh, saying Panjabis should understand the conspiracy behind fielding Amritpal as an independent from the Khadoor Sahib constituency. ‘You should determine whether a person who acquired Sikhi Saroop (appearance) one year ago is fit to lead you or your own 103-years-old party which is steeped in the blood of our forefathers,’ Badal said addressing a gathering at Baba Bakala for party’s Khadoor Sahib candidate Virsa Singh Valtoha. ‘I urge the people to evaluate whether Amritpal has been propped up by central [Indian] agencies. What other explanation can be for a person who first propped up, then projected and arrested, and is now being kept in safe custody only to be used as a candidate in the parliamentary elections to counter the popularity of the SAD.’ Badal pointed out Amritpal had said he would not enter politics and was only interested in amrit parchar (Sikh initiation ceremony) and fighting the drug menace. ‘Amritpal was facilitated to file his papers despite being incarcerated under the National Security Act in Dibrugarh. The families of Bandi Singh (Political Prisoners) are with SAD.’ (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 18, Story 3). SAD is also casting doubts on Amritpal because his lawyer Rajdev Singh Khalsa, a criminal lawyer from Barnala, is a former Sikh hardliner. Khalsa announced Amritpal’s candidature and is leading Amritpal’s campaign. Khalsa has had a checkered career from being an old guard Akali leader, a Member of Parliament from Sangrur, leader of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s Sikh branch), to supporting AAP, joining the SAD (Taksali) and now the BJP.

Since the end of militancy in Panjab in the mid-nineties, numerous political stalwarts have tested electoral waters by floating their own splinter groups. However, their efforts failed to make any mark and they ended up joining mainstream parties. In 1992, Captain Amarinder Singh – later two times CM of Panjab – broke away from SAD and launched SAD (Panthic). In 1998, he merged the party into the INC. Balwant Singh Ramoowalia – twice SAD MP, once member of Rajya Sabha from Samajwadi Party (SP) – launched Lok Bhalai Party in 1999 and merged it into SAD in 2011. Manpreet Singh Badal launched Panjab People’s Party on 27 Mar 2011 and on 15 Jan 2016 merged it into INC. Manpreet left INC for BJP on 18 Jan 2023. Sucha Singh Chhotepur launched Apna Punjab Party on 1 Oct 2016. Chhotepur joined SAD on 9 Dec 2021. Ranjit Singh Brahmpura launched SAD (Taksali) on 16 Dec 2018. Sukhpal Singh Khaira floated Punjab Ekta Party (PEP) on 8 Jan 2019. Khaira rejoined INC on 3 Jun 2021. Former AAP MP from Patiala, Dr Dharamvira Gandhi formed Nawan Punjab Party on 11 Mar 2019 and on 1 Apr 2024 merged it into INC. Sukdhev Singh Dhindsa and son Parminder Singh floated SAD (Democratic) on 7 Jul 2020 and on 19 April 2021 merged it with SAD (Taksali) to launch SAD (Sanyukt). Dhindsa merged SAD (Sanyukt) into SAD on 5 Mar 2024. Amarinder Singh launched Panjab Lok Congress on 2 Nov 2021 and merged it with BJP on 9 Sept 2022. The constant in all these maneuverings is leaders survive, get new lives in mainstream parties, but the issue-specific splinter groups they created perish. 

On 13 May, Indian Ports Global Limited (IPGL) signed a Long-Term Bilateral Contract on Chabahar Port Operation with the Port & Maritime Organisation (PMO) of Iran. This enables operations of Shahid-Beheshti port in the Chabahar Port Development Project for a period of 10 years. IPGL will invest $120M with an additional $250M in financing, bringing the contract's value to $370M, said Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash. Hours after the agreement, the United States – without naming India – issued a warning to anyone considering business deals with Iran. On 14 May, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the Chabahar Port project in Iran will benefit the entire region and people should not take a narrow view of it. He pointed out that in the past the US itself appreciated Chabahar's larger relevance in the region. In Nov 2018, the US exempted India from sanctions for the port’s development. The port serves as a point of trade with landlocked Central Asian countries but so does opening the border between India and Pakistan through Panjab. In spite of the demand, India allows limited trade on the border (See story 3). India is trying to balance its deal with Iran by supplying 27-Tons of weapons to Israel. Spain has denied docking permission to a Denmark-flagged cargo ship carrying weapons from India, destined for Israel. On 20 May, Iran announced that its President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in a remote, mountainous area of Iran's northwest. This has laid to rest any talk of sanctions for now.

On 4 May, Sikh cultural leaders and community members gathered at Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) to connect, celebrate, and recognize the tremendous fundraising efforts in support of the newly established Global Sikh Art & Culture Gallery and Program (GSACGP). This project is the first announced element of a planned refurbishment and expansion of ROM’s renowned suite of South Asian galleries and part of the Museum’s transformative OpenROM project. For the GSACGP, the community has now raised $16.6M. Heritage Canada will deliver an additional $6M for the project as recently announced in the 2024 Federal Budget and subject to passing of the budget. The GSACGP will enable ROM to expand the Museum’s suite of galleries devoted to South Asia to include a dedicated Gallery of Sikh Art & Culture, establish funds to acquire Sikh historic objects and contemporary art, and introduce a new endowed curatorial position dedicated to Sikh art and culture. In addition, public programs will highlight global Sikh art and culture, engaging Museum visitors through a regular series of talks, performances, and gallery tours. The planned 2,300 sq.ft. Sikh Art & Culture Gallery is a multi-faceted initiative that includes a transformation of the Museum’s main floor, a redesigned Bloor Street entrance, and enhanced public and gallery spaces. OpenROM construction is currently underway and expected to be complete in late 2027. In 2000, ROM presented the landmark exhibition, Arts of the Sikh Kingdom, from the UK’s Victoria and Albert Museum, augmented with pieces drawn from the private collections of Sikh community members living in Canada.