Why EC postponed Assembly polls in Punjab to Feb 20?

Accepting a demand by the state government and various political parties, the Election Commission decided to hold the single-phase assembly polls in Punjab on February 20 instead of February 14 in view of Guru Ravidas Jayanti.

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, BJP and its allies, the BSP and other organisations had urged the poll panel to postpone the date of voting as lakhs of followers of Guru Ravidas travel to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to celebrate his birth anniversary on February 16.

Guru Ravidas, a saint and religious reformer, was among those who led the Bhakti movement in north India. Lakhs of people converge at the Shri Guru Ravidas Janam Asthan Mandir in Varanasi to celebrate his birth anniversary.

Political parties in Punjab welcomed the Election Commission’s decision to postpone the state Assembly polls to February 20.

That all major political players made a beeline to seek a postponement of the state polls is testimony to the significance of the Ravidassia community, who are Dalits and followers of Guru Ravidas, in the keenly contested elections.

CM Charanjit Singh Channi, who belongs to the Ramdassia community, had written to the Commission seeking a postponement of the polls. He wrote that he had received representations from members of the Scheduled Castes appealing for the election date to be changed in such a manner that they could participate in the birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Ravidas. He stated that members of the community were keen that they be able to visit Varanasi, the birthplace of the Guru, and also cast their votes upon their return.

Similar pleas were made by all the other prominent political players in the state, including the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP.

The development points to the significance of the sect in election season, especially since Punjab has a large Dalit vote share of 32 per cent, the highest in the country. Channi’s appointment to the top post has been publicised by his party as evidence of its commitment to empower the Dalit community since he is the first Dalit chief minister of the state. The AAP has been making a concerted effort to woo Dalits and has been especially acerbic in its comments aimed at Channi. The Akali Dal too has tried to appeal to the Dalit voters and make a mark in the Dalit-dominated Doaba region of the state by tying up with Bahujan Samaj Party for the Assembly elections.

In the run up to elections, almost every important political leader has visited Dera Sachkhand Ballan, the biggest religious place of the Ravidassia sect, which is situated near Jalandhar and falls in the Doaba region. The sect has followers all across the world. Around 15 lakh followers of the sect are in Punjab, with a majority of them in Doaba.

This article originally appeared in The Week.

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