Haryana elections: BJP’s farm policies rile some, but its pitch on nationalism has takers

INLD has a large support base in Kailram, but this time, these votes are expected to split between the Congress and the JPP, an INLD off-shoot. Many believe the election in the segment will be a direct contest between BJP’s Kamlesh Dhanda and Congress’s Jai Prakash, fondly known as ‘JP Bhai’.

Balbir Singh, 60, says he is not happy with the government policy that has fixed a limit for procurement of the crop per acre on MSP.

“They buy less than 8 quintal of mustard from an acre while many areas produce up to 17 quintal/acre of mustard. Where should the farmers throw the rest?” he asks.

While the government had introduced the rule to discourage farmers from other states from selling their crop at Haryana mandis and set a per acre limit to ensure all farmers in the state can avail the benefit, the farmers are mainly upset over the documentation involved in the process. “There was no such problem during the Bhupinder Singh Hooda regime,” says Balbir.

“Now they have given a call to save water. Farmers don’t waste water. We bathe once in three days, shahri (city dwellers) waste 5 litres of water after passing urine every time,” he says.

At this point, a farmers pulls this correspondent aside and claims that the group belongs to opposition supporters. “They are not neutral persons, but supporters of the Congress and JJP. I am happy with the Modi government’s offer of Rs 6,000 for each poor farmer annually,” says Ramphal Kundu, but adds that he is not happy with the criteria for compensation for crop damage. “They give compensation only when 75 per cent of the total crop in a village suffers damage. If there is damage to the crops of one or two farmers, even then the relief should be given,” says Ramphal.

Farmers in the village also point out that caste will play a role in the voting, particularly due to the caste violence in 2016 during the Jat quota stir. “Even during the Lok Sabha polls, the votes were cast keeping in view the caste of candidates,” says Rakesh Kumar, a farmer.

In Saini-dominated areas of Kurukshetra district, farmers said they were facing problems, but added that they were still happy with the BJP government.

“The seeds and fertilisers are costly and the electricity for tubewells is supplied for just eight hours daily and sometimes even less. We are forced to sell paddy at the rate of Rs 1600-1700 per quintal while the government had fixed its MSP at Rs 1835 per quintal. But we are happy with the BJP government,” says Dyal Singh Saini from Sonti village of Ladwa constituency in Kurukshetra district. Pawan Saini of BJP, who had won the 2014 Assembly election from here, is seeking a re-election.

A farm labourer in Dyal Singh’s field, Prem Chand, says, “I had seen on TV that Pakistan killed our 40 jawans, but Modi has taken revenge. Modi has done the right thing.”

The acting president of Bhartiya Kisan Union’s Haryana unit Karam Singh Mathana accuses the media, especially TV channels, of ignoring issues that matter to the farming community and misguiding farmers.

“Media keeps showing programmes related to India’s aggressive stance against Pakistan. Narendra Modi is glorified even for the Army’s bravery,” he says.

Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Om Prakash Dhankar counters this. “The BJP government gave more compensation to farmers than any of the previous governments in Haryana. Now, we are moving towards ensuring double income of farmers,” says Dhankar, who is contesting form Badli Assembly constituency in Jhajjar district.