![]() “Modi is a very good salesman but we are not going to fall prey to his glib talk again,” said 55-year-old Narendra Kalhande, who grows cane on his 2.5 acre farm.įarm Minister Radha Mohan Singh defended the government’s record, citing initiatives on irrigation, crop insurance and electronic trading platforms for farmers to sell produce. Nearly half a dozen farmers sitting with Singh on a hand-woven rope cot, and many of others in Kairana - which elected a joint opposition candidate from a small regional party in a key by-election last week - accused Modi and the Uttar Pradesh administration, also run by the BJP, of failing to live up to their promises and overlooking the concerns of villagers. “Modi promised to double farmers’ income but our earning has halved because of his apathy and anti-farmer policies.” “No doubt, there was a wave for Modi in 2014, but farmers are disenchanted with him now,” said sugar cane grower Uday Vir Singh, 53, plonking down on a wicker chair and smoking his hookah. While it is risky to predict election outcomes in India, where religion and caste remain important issues – not to mention the influence of fickle regional parties - interviews with some of the state’s millions of farmers suggest rural angst could cost the government dearly. ![]() Now, facing criticism for not improving living standards in the countryside, where 70 percent of India’s 1.3 billion people live, analysts and farm economists said Modi would find it hard to repeat the feat in a general election due by May 2019. REUTERS/Mayank Bhardwajįour years ago, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, winning 73 of 80 seats, as the rural poor - swayed by promises of higher crop prices - deserted the rival Congress party. Farmers sit after they cast their vote in a by-election in Kairana, Uttar Pradesh State, May 28, 2018.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |