Ajit Jalandhar, the widely circulated Punjabi daily, i celebrating the “historic poll boycott” of the non-elections held in Punjab on Feb.19. Who won the recent polls is irrelevant for the daily, which closely reflects the mood of the Sikhs. What is being emphasized by the newspaper is the non-representative character of the newly elected assembly. Its edition On the poll results claims that the turn-out of voters was so low that it looked as if Punjab was observing “curfew” imposed by the people, “Nor only was there no enthusiasm for the polis, but the People, especially in the villagers, refused to cooperate with the officials on polling duty. Shopkeepers boycotted the officials; no one would even sell them a cup of tea. In Bathinda, 100 polling booths returned empty ballot boxes. Not enough votes even for the election of a sarpanch were cast in my village for the assembly pols,” sneers an old man. His telling remark reveals the extent to which the new Vidhan Sabha represents the wishes of the people.”
The Akal Patrika (Jalandhar, Punjabi) which was in favour of holding the polls, castigates the government for arresting the Akali leaders: who called for the poll boycott. “The arrests of the Akali enraged the Sikhs,” says the daily. Advising chief minister Beant Singh to take urgent steps to create a concern atmosphere in the state, Akali Patrick calls for the immediate release of all the leaders of the Akalis and other pro-boycott Sikh organizations. “Before announcing anew Punjab patron age, the government should take all the anthic organizations into confidence, It should announce a general amnesty and invite the representatives of all the militant organizations and various Sikh organizations for talks.”
As usual, the most balanced comment comes from The Tribune (Chandigarh), The daily’s editorial entitled “Victory, Yes, Mandate not Yet” says that power has been handed over to the Congress on a platter as the militants and the pro-boycott Akalis had rigged the poll in its favour, To win the confidence of the people, it is imperative for the state and the Central governments to come to grips with contentious issues like the territories question and the river waters question, “Neither the military’s strong arm nor the exercise of governmental authority will help. Patience and understanding may help. The need of the hour is for the Congress party to convert an electoral triumph into a popular mandate,” advises the Tribune, The Hindu Samachar groups popular dailies, Punjab Kesari (Hindi) and Jagbani Punja published from Jalandhar, view result of the Punjab polls as a vote against Pakistan, “The peoples mandate was a rejection of Pakistan’s bid to disrupt peace in the state and to undermine the unity and integrity of the country. The peaceful polls symbolize the vindication of Prime Minister Narashima Raos policies.”
Outside Punjab, editorial comment on the recent polls is skeptical about the fate of the Beant Singh government which has come power in bid to establish “Democracy through the barrel of the gun,” in the words of The Express (Thirissivaperoon Malayalam). The future course of events in the state would depend on the extent to which the Akali groups ultimately decide to support the Congress government,” observers Loksatta (Bombay, Marathi; Phulchhab (Gujarati) predict the early demise of the new state government as its no representative character will not let it survive. “No matter how long this government lasts, it will not be able to sort the Punjab problem,” opines Prajavani (Bangalore, Karnataka)..
Most Hindu dailies have hailed the return of a democratically ended government in Punjab as a major triumph for Prime Minister Narasimha Rao.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 13, 1992
