Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi will be visiting Jalandhar for his roadshow on Tuesday. After the roadshow, he will be going to visit Divya Jyoti Sansthan in Nurmehal. In Punjab, there are six big Deras that have a great impact on crores of followers and also influence their votes.
The politics in Punjab is not only restricted to only caste and religion but also influenced by Deras. The 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly elections will be held in Punjab on 20 February 2022 to elect the 117 members of the 16th Assembly of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. The votes will be counted and the results will be declared on 10 March 2022.
Divya Jyoti Sansthan is run under the mentorship of Ashutosh Maharaj. He has a large number of followers all over Punjab but has a great hold in Doaba and Malwa region. Not only Jatt but Dalits and Hindus also follow his teachings. The Dera impacts 20-25 seats in Punjab including seats of Taran-Taran, Ludhiana and Jalandhar region.
Visiting Divya Jyoti Sansthan can be said as a part of Channi’s political strategy. Though Ashutosh Maharaj is not alive its clinically dead body is still placed in the Dera by his followers. They believe that one day he will surely return.
Channi earlier visited Dera Sachkhand Ballan and stayed there for a night. Dera Sachkhand Ballan influences the votes of the Ravidas community. According to sources, Channi is trying to seek votes by visiting these places to win upcoming elections.
Apart from Congress, BJP is also trying to work on the same strategy. Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who is serving a sentence in the rape and murder case, has been released for a furlough of 21 days just before the elections. Dera Sacha Sauda is located in the Sirsa district of Haryana. It affects about 69 seats in the Malwa region of Punjab. Security has been tightened outside Sunaria Jail given the release of Gurmeet Ram Rahim.
There are 300 Deras in 23 districts of Punjab. Radha Swami Dera, Nirankari Dera, Divya Jyoti Sansthan are some of the big names which have a political impact in the state.