Farmer organisations in Maharashtra have begun to get politically aggressive. After the success of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the Sharad Joshi-led Shetkari Sanghatana (SS) is also considering taking a plunge in the upcoming assembly polls.
A state-level executive meet is slated to be held at Shegaon in Buldhana district on Thursday where several issues relating to farmer interests and the assembly polls will be discussed, Vithalrao Pawar, general secretary, Shetkari Sanghatana, said.
The Sanghatana has decided to actively participate and contest from at least 25 seats in the polls so that its voice can be heard, Pawar said. He claimed that the SS has the support of around 55 lakh cane farmers of the state, accounting for a formidable votebank, and has therefore decided to fight it out to protect their interests.
The SS is critical of the NDA government’s policies with regard to farmers and the recent decision on delisting of onions. The Sanghatana has demanded a Minimum Support Price (MSP) of R15 per kg for onion with a profit of R7.50 per kg for the farmer.
Pawar said the government should ensure 50% profit over the input cost of a crop and waive off loans and electricity bills of farmers in view of the drought threat in the state. Once the loans are waived off, the farmers can begin on a clean slate, he added. “The government had given a similar loan waiver to farmers in 2007-08,” he pointed out.
The SSS has also taken a critical stand against the Modi government for the marginal rise in
MSP for paddy, jowar, cotton and pulses. The SSS had criticised the government for not increasing MSP of soyabean and groundnut and said the MSP rise was only 2% while the cost of farming had shot up substantially.
The Sanghatana demanded the MSP should be linked with the rapidly increasing cost of farming. Shetty’s SSS garnered strong backing of farmers and is set to change the political equation in western Maharashtra, a region hitherto dominated by sugar barons
The SSS was roped in by late BJP leader Gopinath Munde in the MahaYuti grand alliance which also comprises the Shiv Sena, BJP, Republican Party of India and Rashtriya Samaj Party, and is currently supporting the Modi government at the Centre. The party had contested two seats in Maharashtra. SSS leader Sadabhau Khot indicated that partyworkers have shown readiness to contest 65 seats in the Maharashtra polls.
“The first tour of the Marathwada region was conducted last week and from August onwards, Raju Shetty will personally tour the constituencies,” Khot said. “As of now, we are with the ‘Mahayuti’ alliance but are also making our own preparations for polls,” he added.
The SS, meanwhile, is confident of making a dent in the state’s politics on its own steam. Around 2,000 workers of the Shetkari Sanghatana are expected to attend the meet.