New Delhi: With the main arena for the 2019 battle being rural India, Opposition parties, particularly the CPI(M), is all set to stir the rural pot. After its mammoth farmers’ rally in Maharashtra, the CPI(M) affiliated trade union CITU has called for a “massive march” to Parliament on September 5. The march aims to “expose the failures of the BJP-led Modi government at the Centre and its neoliberal policies.” Workers and farmers from across the country will converge in Delhi for the march. Besides CITU the march is being organised by All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and All India Agricultural Workers’ Union (AIAWU).
According to People’s Democracy, the CPI(M) mouthpiece, “This will be the first-ever such march in the national capital, of the three major sections of the toiling people who produce the wealth of this country.” Aware that the battle to return to power will be mainly fought in the fields of rural India, the BJP too has unleashed a propaganda blitz on the government website —www.mygov.in.
The website lists the achievements and proposed plans of the Modi government for farmers. It also highlights the measures taken by the Centre for farmers that range from “affordable credit to boost agriculture productivity, unprecedented support to farmers with hike in MSP and record procurement,” to “regional budgetary allocation for record outcomes.”
One of the “focus areas” mentioned in the website is the government’s commitment to “putting farmers’ first.”
There’s growing concern within the saffron camp over the farmers’ issue in poll-bound states, particularly Madhya Pradesh. The political battle to capture Madhya Pradesh, in fact, started from Mandsaur where five farmers were killed in police firing a year ago. Earlier this week, Congress president Rahul Gandhi chose Mandsaur to kick-start his campaign for the state elections.
The BJP strategists equated Madhya Pradesh’s situation with Gujarat where, in the 2016 December elections, the rural belt went against the BJP while the urban vote saved the day for the party.
In Gujarat, non-electoral organisations such as the Hardik Patel-led Patidar outfit helped create anti-government sentiment that favoured the Congress in rural seats.
However, according to 2011 Census report, the increase in population in rural areas is double that of urban areas.
The Census put the rural-urban distribution of population as 72.37 per cent and 27.63 per cent respectively.
To make matters worse for the Madhya Pradesh government, a report has indicated that “after onion, tomato, garlic and cabbage growers, it is now the turn of banana cultivators to throw away their produce due to crashing prices.” It was further added, “Banana farmers in Badwani district — the largest producer of bananas — are feeding animals freshly picked bananas after its price fell to as low as Rs 500 per trolley on Thursday.”
