Ram Rahim has got 21 days off
The Haryana government has granted leave to Dera Sacha Sauda Samiti chief Ram Rahim, who is serving a sentence in a rape and murder case. Ram Rahim will now be out of jail for 21 days. This is the 7th time that Ram Rahim has got furlough or parole before any election. After 2 months from now, assembly elections are going to be held in 90 seats in Haryana. Ram Rahim has got furlough or parole in 192 cases in first 6 elections.
Congress has questioned Ram Rahim’s leave. Congress spokesperson Surendra Rajput says that when the Bharatiya Janata Party gets stuck in an election, it sits in Rahim’s lap. Can BJP not win elections on its own? While the ruling BJP is silent on Ram Rahim’s concession. Amid the questions raised by the Congress and the silence of the BJP, the debate is whether Ram Rahim is really effective in the elections?
If Ram Rahim comes out, what will be the results of the election?
, Municipal elections were to be held in June 2018 for 5 seats of Haryana Municipal Corporation. Earlier Ram Rahim got 30 days parole. This was Ram Rahim’s first parole after going to jail in August 2017. The BJP had a one-sided victory in this civic election. The party won all 5 seats.
, Assembly elections were to be held in 5 states including Punjab in March 2022. Earlier in January 2022, Ram Rahim was granted parole for 21 days. Rahim came out of jail and started giving political message from Haryana itself. However, Ram Rahim proved ineffective in the Punjab elections. The BJP won only 2 seats in the 2022 elections, down from 3 seats in 2017.
, Panchayat elections were to be held in Haryana in October 2022. This time Ram Rahim got 40 days parole and was out of jail again. When Ram Rahim came out of jail, the then Manohar Lal Khattar government was heavily criticized. However, the BJP faced defeat in the panchayat elections and the party contested on 102 Zilla Parishad seats in seven districts, of which it won only 22 seats. The party lost badly in Panchkula and Palwal.
, In 2022, along with the panchayat elections, assembly by-elections were also held in Adampur. This seat is considered to be the stronghold of Bhajanlal family. Bhajanlal’s grandson Bhavya Vishnoi was contesting from BJP from Adampur. Congress made Jayaprakash its candidate. Bhavi won this election by 15,740 votes.
, Ram Rahim got furlough before assembly elections in Rajasthan in 2023. This time Rahim has got 21 days furlough. This time also the BJP government was criticized. When the results of the assembly elections in the state came out, the BJP was victorious. However, where Ram Rahim dominated, the BJP failed. BJP could win only 2 out of 6 seats in Sriganganagar and only 1 out of 5 seats in Hanumangarh.
, Assembly elections are about to be held in Haryana and the ruling BJP has suffered a major setback in the recent Lok Sabha elections. BJP could win only 5 out of 10 Lok Sabha seats. Party candidates lost badly in Sirsa. Congress has got lead in all 9 seats here. In 2019, Congress won only 2 assembly seats here.
Got furlough for the third time, how different from parole?
After going to jail, Ram Rahim has got furlough for the third time. According to experts, parole is given to inmates who have served part of their sentence and are less likely to reoffend.
A furlough is a short-term or temporary release granted to convicts from prison as a corrective measure. Only the prison administration allows parole and furlough. Jail administration is under the state government.
How effective is Ram Rahim’s Dera Sacha Sauda?
Dera Sacha Sauda is a socio-spiritual organization founded by Mastana Balochistan in 148 AD. Ram Rahim got his bow in 1990. Since then he is the head of this organization. At one point it was said that Dera Sacha Sauda had 1 crore followers. However, now this number has reduced drastically. Dera Sacha Sauda is headquartered in Sirsa, Haryana.
Initially, Ram Rahim was close to Congress leaders. In 2007 and 2012, he gave statements in support of the Congress. In 2012, Punjab Congress Captain Amarinder Singh also went to Sirsa with his wife to meet Ram Rahim. However, Congress was defeated in both the Punjab elections.
Ram Rahim’s worst days came in 2017, when the Punjab High Court convicted him of raping a nun and murdering a journalist. At that time there was a huge uproar in Haryana. However, due to the strictness of the court, Baba had to be arrested. Ram Rahim’s followers live in Malwa in Punjab, Sriganganagar in Rajasthan, Sirsa-Ambala in Haryana and Himachal.
