Nagpur: Fears that the rates of soyabean and cotton crashing below the minimum support price (MSP) would also bring down the Mahayuti in the hinterland failed to come true. The ‘Katenge toh Batenge' slogan and ‘Ladki Bahin dole' did the damage control, say observers while opposition leaders accept it too.
Even post-elections, soyabean continued to fetch over Rs1,000 below the MSP. Rates of cotton — the crop linked to Vidarbha's farmers' crisis — were also below the benchmark MSP. Yet, Mahayuti won a landslide victory in the rural areas where poll pundits predicted it might suffer a major setback.
The MVA did not leverage the soyabean issue adequately, said farm activists. They also said the results left them dumbfounded, as many accepted that the ‘Ladki Bahin' dole and "Katenge toh Batenge" slogan were the game changers.
Soyabean gets an MSP of Rs4,892 a quintal, and it is Rs7,521 for the long staple grade of cotton. The BJP, during the campaign, promised to hike the soyabean MSP to Rs 6,000 if it forms govt. The Congress countered it by assuring to take it to Rs7,000 in its regime. Even with a higher amount promised both for soyabean and women by Congress, the rural voters preferred Mahayuti, said farm activists.
Parivartan Mahamanch, an alliance of over 35 outfits fighting elections with farm produce issues among the agenda, also failed miserably. Among the strong candidates of the Mahamanch, four-time MLA from Achalpur Bachchu Kadu, who often raises farmers' issues, lost.
Raju Shetti of Swabhiman Paksha told TOI that it is clear the Hindutva agenda eclipsed the real issues like poor rates for farmers or inflation, and voters got carried away. "Even "Ladki Bahin took a toll. We tried our best to drive down the point that losses due to soyabean prices are much more than people would get under the Ladki Bahin grant," he said.
President of Shetkari Sanghathana, Anil Ghanwat, also said the "Batenge Toh Katenge" factor overcame the rest. "The farmers forgot about soyabean prices crashing and voted on caste lines," said Manish Jadhav, a Swabhimani Paksh activist from Yavatmal.
"The MVA raised the soyabean issue rather late during the campaign. By that time, the BJP promised to hike the MSP to Rs6,000, and Congress only countered by offering to take it to Rs7,000 a quintal. The voters perhaps believed in the party which was already in power," said Vijay Jawandhia, a veteran activist from Shetkari Sangathana.
"Womenfolk, even from families which traditionally sided with other parties, voted for BJP due to the Ladki Bahin dole," said Ganesh Nanote, a cotton farmer from Akola.
Meanwhile, the govt procurement at MSP continued by the National Cooperative Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED), the designated agency. In Maharashtra, so far, over 21,000 tonnes have been bought against a target of Rs14 lakh. This year, the govt is directly depositing the money into farmers' accounts, said a NAFED official.