Tur crisis could rule out early polls

Mumbai: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) core advisory team has advised chief minister Devendra Fadnavis not to go for mid-term polls, with the growing tur dal crisis in the state.

The BJP was preparing for mid-term polls after it won almost all the local bodies polls in January and February this year. However, the social situation in the state has not remained in favour of the BJP since the elections, party sources said.

The party had emerged victor in all the local body polls after its success in the Lok Sabha and 2014 Assembly polls. The party even snatched some of Congress’ and Nationalist Congress Party’s strongholds like Vidarbha, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad in local body elections. This boosted its morale and indicated that its acceptance among people is more, compared to in the past. This prompted suggestions in the BJP to hold mid-term polls in December to secure absolute majority and get rid of ally Shiv Sena. The BJP currently has 122 seats, 23 short of simple majority in the Maharasthra Assembly. It is in power with the help of Shiv Sena, which has 63 seats.

However, the first jolt for the BJP after the local body polls came in the form of bumper production of tur dal this year. The state is struggling to buy the excess dal. Production of tur dal is 17 lakh tonne and there are no buyers in the market. The government has bought only four lakh tonne of tur dal. The tur prices have also dipped, meaning huge loss for farmers, who are now protesting many rural areas.

In addition to this, the BJP state president Raosaheb Danve’s recent statement allegedly abusing farmers has put the party in a spot.

“The situation is not favourable for mid-term polls in Maharashtra at present. Farmers are upset over the tur dal issue. The government is doing its best to overcome the crisis but it will take some time. Though the party has emerged as the number one in the state, it will have to wait for the situation to calm down,” a BJP leader said on condition of anonymity. The BJP leaders have brought the issue and their concerns to the notice of Mr Fadnavis. On Saturday, protests were held during the CM’s tour in Osmanabad.