BKU will not support any party in UP polls: Rakesh Tikait

A day after thousands of farmers ended their year-long protest against the Centre’s farm laws and headed back home, Rakesh Tikait, the face of the farmers’ protest at Delhi, has clarified that Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) will not be a part of the assembly elections slated next year.

Speaking to media on Sunday, Tikait, the spokesperson of the union, said BKU will “not become a party to politics” neither support any candidate in the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh.

Stressing that the farmers’ protest and BKU has unified the Hindus and Muslims of Uttar Pradesh, Tikait said that the “manufactured divide” is now over and “those who used to benefit from the divide” will be disappointed this time around.

In earlier interviews, Tikait has clarified that he has no political aspirations and that farmers, like any ordinary voter, would elect those who work for their interests.

Tikait has been credited with spearheading the protest against the contentious laws by mobilizing farmers in western Uttar Pradesh. While Tikait has maintained that BKU will continue to work as a pressure group to keep the government in check, his imminent jump into politics has been widely speculated. Analysts have predicted that BKU may support Rashtriya Lok Dal in the Uttar Pradesh polls.

The farmers’ protest came to an end on Saturday after the Centre withdrew the three laws they were agitating against and assured to fulfil the rest of the demands by farmers including the implementation of MSP and withdrawal of cases against protesters.