As electioneering heats up, so do farmer protests

Farm leaders say that they have asked their cadre to pose questions about the promises that remain unfulfilled. They claim such protests are happening across Punjab, Haryana and to some extent in Rajasthan. In many villages, boards have sprung up banning the entry of BJP candidates

In Punjab and Haryana, the epicentre of farmer protests, agitated farmers are blocking the entry of ruling party candidates into villages. “You blocked our way to New Delhi and we’ll block your entry into our villages,” goes the refrain.

So much so that Naina Chautala, mother of former Haryana deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala of Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), which had formed a coalition government in the State with BJP, had apologized to farmers saying that they should not block the entry of her son to the villages.

“BJP holds power both at the State and the Centre. Moreover, Dushyant has consistently advocated an agrarian community, even during his earlier tenure as MP from Hisar,” she told farmers, and welcomed them to engage in a dialogue to resolve any conflicts. Dushyant Chautala faced farmers’ ire when he went to campaign in Nara, Gamra, Khanpur and Sindhar villages of Hisar. Media reports say that BJP’s Hisar candidate Ranjit Singh Chautala had to leave a meeting midway at a village and cancel another election-related event after he was confronted by a group of furious farmers. Even Ashok Tanwar, who is contesting from Sirsa, had to face farmers’ ire during his campaigning.

BJP MP and Rohtak candidate Arvind Sharma had to leave a village of Kosli Assembly constituency as the locals refused to listen to him. Several video grabs doing the rounds then showed how villagers were heckling the leaders, amid hoots and jeers, followed by heated exchanges forcing the candidates to retreat at many places. For instance, while the Sonepat candidate Mohan Lal Badoli faced similar protests at some places in Jind district, video clips show how irate farmers have got into heated argument with Ranjit Chautala. Many a leaders have simply bypassed the villages in the rural constituency where they fear protests.

In neighbouring Punjab, BJP candidate Hans Raj Hans faced farmers’ ire in Rampura Phul, near Bathinda. While the police had put up barriers to stop farmers, a showdown with the police did transpire.

Similarly, Praneet Kaur, wife of former Punjab Chief Minister, Capt. Amarinder Singh, was also at the receiving end. Former Ambassador to the US, now contesting as BJP candidate for Amritsar seat, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, faced sloganeering farmers during his campaign. In fact, news reports say that farmers had blocked the entry of BJP candidates in some 60 villages, while farm leaders say that they have asked their cadre to pose questions about the promises that remain unfulfilled. They claim such protests are happening across Punjab, Haryana and to some extent in Rajasthan. In many villages, boards have sprung up banning the entry of BJP candidates.

While the BJP is blaming Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for organizing these protests, AAP candidates too faced protests. Farmers sat at a dharna outside the residence of AAP Bathinda Urban MLA for not getting compensation for crop damages. While the BJP is playing down these protests, the worry it faces is that if the momentum stretches to other States, then that could jeopardize its winning prospects.

In any case, various factions of Bharti Kisan Union (BKU) that had spearheaded the year-long protests at the New Delhi borders in 2020-21, resulting in the withdrawal of the three contentious farm laws, have appealed to farmers to oppose the candidates, seeking answers to various issues flagged by them. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has appealed to Punjab farmers to also question leaders of other political parties.

That agriculture is in the throes of a deepening agrarian crisis is well known. But the farmers’ anger is built largely on the inaction resulting from an apathy and indifference that prevails. Every elections - whether at the State or the Central level - see a lot of promises made to woo farmers. In 2014, it is generally acknowledged that the farming community overwhelmingly voted in favour of the BJP when Narendra Modi promised to Minimum Support Price (MSP) to farmers. He had spoken eloquently on the need to follow the MSP prescription suggested by the Swaminathan Commission. But once in the saddle, farmer unions say the government actually submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying it was not possible to make MSP legal as it would distort markets.

The manner in which the three ‘black’ farm laws were introduced and then pushed through the Parliament has expectedly angered the farming community. After a prolonged protest the laws were eventually withdrawn. But efforts are still being made to bring back these laws through the back door. And still worse, the recent fortification of the highway to stall farmers march to New Delhi, and use drones to throw tear gas shells at the agitating farmers have aggravated the issue. The retaliation by farmer groups by way of blocking the entry of political leaders into villages is a reflection of the growing indignation at an unfair treatment being meted out to them.

Farmers alone cannot be faulted when the government too had put up barricades to stop the farmers from marching to New Delhi. It is only in India that farmers are being forcibly stopped (at the Haryana borders) while farmers protesting in 24 countries in Europe have been allowed to march all the way to the capital cities. Despite European farmers spraying manure on official buildings and throwing mud on the highways, at no place was police atrocities seen or reported. In fact, heads of state met the protesting farmers and publicly acknowledged that farmers have a right to protest and to be heard.

The European Commission subsequently brought changes to environmental regulations that farmers were especially piqued against. Many countries, including France, are examining the possibility of providing farmers with a floor price below which no trading takes place.

In India, farmers too need to be heard. They cannot be kept at bay simply because of the political indifference that prevails against the farming community. Farmers are demanding a guaranteed Minimum Support Price (MSP) and the mechanism to go about it. After all, how long can we keep farmers at the bottom of the pyramid?

What should worry the political leadership is that the farming community cannot be always taken for granted. If only a dominant part of the farming community – forming roughly 50 per cent of the country’s population – begins to respond by exercising their vote purely on the basis of knowing which party is more sympathetic towards their issues, can the indifference and antagonism towards farmers and farming will disappear.

(The author is a noted food policy analyst and an expert on issues related to the agriculture sector. He writes on food, agriculture and hunger)