Rakesh Tikait expelled from BKU, accused by farmer leaders of playing politics

In a massive development, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) on Sunday expelled its firebrand leader Rakesh Tikait, the face of the Farmers' Protest in 2020. Apart from Rakesh Tikait, his brother Naresh Tikait has also been removed from the post of BKU's National President. The Tikaits have been accused by farmer leaders of 'playing politics', and 'working in the interests of a political party'.

With the ouster of the Tikaits, the organization, which was responsible for spearheading and leading the farmer's protest against the three Farm Laws for nearly a year, has been divided into two factions. Farmer leader Rajesh Singh Chauhan has replaced Naresh Tikait and has been appointed as the new BKU (Apolitical) chief. 

(Image of Rajesh Singh Chauhan being felicitated as the new BKU (Apolitical) chief in Lucknow)

Tikait was turning BKU into a 'political zone'

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Chauhan remarked that a lot of hard work had been put into creating the unified Bhartiya Kisan Union, which was built to safeguard the interests of the farmers. However, the organization under the Tikaits was turning into a 'political zone'. Asserting that the farmers' body would not work for any 'political party', the leader announced the formation of a new faction 'Bhartiya Kisan Union (Apolitical)'. 

"Today our organization held a meeting. Our new organization's name will be Bharatiya Kisan Union (Apolitical). We have no comment on Rakesh Tikait, or Naresh Tikait, they can keep doing what they want to do. But the BKU was turned into a political zone. It was inspired by politics," said the BKU (A) chief. 

He added, "We spoke to Rakesh Tikait and expressed our concerns. We did a lot of hard work to create BKU, but he asked us to support one party. We object to that. Our motive is to look into the problems of farmers. We will not work for any party." 

After the farmer's protest fizzled out with the repeal of the three Farm Laws, Rakesh Tikait was spotted campaigning for political parties. As the spokesperson of the farmers' outfit, Tikait's alleged political affiliations had raised eyebrows. 

In March 2021, he had arrived to campaign for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal's Nandigram and Kolkata. The BJP had alleged that 'background support' was voiced by Mamata Banerjee to Tikait-led farmers' protest. In Uttar Pradesh, his elder brother Naresh Tikait, while addressing the people, said that he hoped that the state would support the coalition candidates (Samajwadi Party-RLD) in the elections. Although Rakesh Tikait vowed to go to UP voters with 'defeat BJP' slogans, he did a complete u-turn after the party's victory and asserted that the people's wish was paramount.