Pitted against mighty, this farmer’s widow banks on personal touch

Perneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 16

While major political parties are giving a final push to their campaign in the last lap by holding huge rallies with their star campaigners, farmer’s widow Veerpal Kaur from Ralla village in Mansa is out on a campaign that involves personal touch as she can’t afford a blitzkrieg often associated with polls.

She is in the electoral arena from the Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency for highlighting the issues of deepening agrarian crisis and farm suicides.

Talking to The Tribune, Veerpal said, “We don’t have enough resources to run a campaign that can match the rich and mighty candidates of key political parties. We have somehow managed to hire an auto-rickshaw on which we traverse from one village to another. We are covering 25 to 30 villages daily, appealing to people to vote for us on May 19.”

Facing a fund crunch for the poll drive, she said they were relying on crowdfunding alongside canvassing in villages. “People are making donations from as little as Rs10 up to Rs500.” On how much they are spending on their campaign, she said they were incurring expenses of Rs1,300 daily, including the charges of the auto-rickshaw and the public address system.

Veerpal appeals to the voters to support her with folded hands, saying, “You have seen how successive governments have failed on the issues of farm distress, unemployment and drug abuse. They have ruined the state’s farmers and youth. You should be wary of these political parties who are practicing politics of connivance. Your support will strengthen our fight and will help us take our struggle forward.”

Veerpal said she was intimidated by some influential people in her village who threatened her to lodge false FIRs, but she didn’t give up as she could not see her Punjab getting ruined.

She said she was not concerned about her victory or defeat, adding, “I won the day I filed the papers as highlighting our cause and making our voices heard to those in power is our primary aim.”

Kiranjit Kaur Jhunir, convener, Committee for Farmers and Families of Agrarian Suicide Victims, accompanies Veerpal. She said, “We are campaigning within our limited means. We usually approach farmers, MGNREGA workers and other sections of society either in a common place in the village or through door-to-door campaigning. We have also been distributing leaflets, underlining our agenda for the elections.” 

She said those who were aware of Veerpal’s candidature gathered people in their respective villages and called them for the campaign. 

Kiranjit added that Veerpal’s candidature is being liked by the families of the debt-ridden farmers in rural areas. She said they found at least five farm suicide families in almost every village when they visited for the poll drive. 

“There are villages like Bhamme Kalan where we came across 38 farm suicide affected families followed by Hirke village with 32 families,” she said.

Kiranjit said they had also roped in a large number of such families in their campaign and they were garnering support for them in their respective villages. 

Talking about Veerpal’s drive to seek funding through social media, she said they had received around Rs 15,000 in her bank account.