All remember how the Sacha Sauda having head office at Sirsa in Haryana has its influence across the Malwa belt in Punjab.
The dera had supported the Congress in the 2002 Assembly elections and the conflict began when the Akalis retained power in 2007 Assembly elections.
Akalis again won in 2012 and just days before that the police recommended cancellation of an FIR for hurting religious sentiments registered against the dera head. The case is in local court.
Before the 2007 elections, Dera Dhakki Sahib in Maqsoodran in Ludhiana witnessed a similar turmoil when Akali workers led by two MLA brothers of the party ransacked the dera. The dera head known as Helicopter Baba had immense influence in the region.
Deras have changed their strategy after that. They have made political wings. The followers, local journalists and intelligence bureau sleuths reveal that the deras don't declare their stand openly now. They pass subtle directions through the political wings and that too a day or hours before the elections.
In Malwa Dera Sacha Sauda has a huge impact. It was supporting the Congress, but after the clash with the Akalis things changed and in the next elections, Akali won the majority of seats from Malwa.
Harmander Jassi, whose daughter is married to the son of dera head lost elections from Bathinda Urban, where dera followers are in a plenty.
During militancy in the state, a number of deras openly declared that they were supporting the government's fight against terrorism.
The Akalis have managed to win over many of them a substantial level. Revenue Minister Bikramjit Majithia is married to the niece of an influential sect in the Doaba belt.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal developed close affinity with dera heads by offering them land at a token price of Re 1, that too along the National Highway in Ludhiana city.
concluded.
