Will try to prevent ‘communal elements’ from dividing votes of farmers in 2019 election: Raju Shetti

“In the recent Kairana bypolls, farmers were united over the issue of unpaid cane arrears. The results are for everyone to see,” said Shetti.

In 2014, the BJP had not only won from Kairana in Uttar Pradesh, it had also cornered almost 50 per cent of the polled votes. In the Kairana bypolls, Rashtriya Lok Dal candidate Tabassum Hasan, supported by the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, had defeated her BJP rival.

“Exactly a year ago, six farmers had lost their lives when police fired on them in Mandasaur. The incident made farmers and farmer leaders in the country realise the need for unity,” he said. Today, leaders with divergent views had come together on a common platform, said the MP. “The four years of the Narendra Modi-led government has affected the farm sector the most. Whether it was demonetisation or the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the farmers have been hit the most,” said Shetti.

Shetti said he was going to introduce two private members’ bills in the upcoming Parliament session. “The bills will ensure complete loan waiver for the farmers as well as an assured income for them, which will be one-and-a-half-times the input cost,” he said. The bills had the support of almost all major political parties, said Shetti. Asked about the possibility of a political third front before the Parliamentary polls, Shetti said the chances of such an alliance were slim. “Instead, I foresee a fight between BJP and the rest…,” he said.

However, Shetti refused to reveal the electoral strategy of the farmers’ collective. “As farmer leaders, we have to take a decision on who to go to for the upcoming polls. That decision will be taken by the central committee and will be followed by us in the state. We shall have to ensure that we go with only those who are serious about their commitment to farmers,” he said.

On the possibility of future electoral alliances, the MP said, “If the Shiv Sena severs its ties with the BJP, it will make sense to ally with them”. As far as alliances with the Congress and NCP were concerned, Shetti said he would toe the line that the AIKSCC will take.