Agrarian Distress, Unemployment,Loan Waiver,Key Maharashtra Poll Issues
As Maharashtra goes to Lok Sabha polls in four phases later this month, India’s largest western state –which sends the second highest number (48) of representatives to lower house of Parliament after Uttar Pradesh (80) – continues to reel under a severe agrarian crisis. While there is no let up in farmers’ suicides in the state, more than 50 per cent of geographical area of the state is reeling under acute drought.
Not unexpectedly, the agrarian distress – witnessed in a major part of eastern Maharashtra (better known as Vidarbha region) and Marathwada region – is one of the major issues in the Lok Sabha elections in the state. Already under stress, the farmers are feeling the pinch of lack of adequate drinking water, agricultural loan availability and remunerative prices for their produce. Unemployment, which is a pan Maharashtra problem, is another major issue which will play a crucial role in the polls.
The severity of the agrarian crisis should be seen in the context of the unabated farmers’ suicides and poor implementation of the farm loan waiver scheme announced by the BJP-led saffron alliance government in the state. The available official statistics reveal that the four years from 6268 in 2015 to 11,995 in 2018.
The reply obtained by RTI activist Jeetendra Ghadge revealed recently that Amravati revenue division – comprising districts of Akola, Amravati, Buldhana, Washim and Yavatmal in eastern Maharashtra – accounted for a maximum of 4,383 out of the total 5,727 farmers’ suicides reported from across the state between 2014 and 2018.
In the first three months of 2019, as many as 35o farmers have committed suicides in various parts of the state. “Unlike in the past when Yavatmal used to be the epi-centre of farmers’ suicides, there is a shift in the scenario. It is the neighbouring Akola district that has accounted for a maximum 102 farmers’ suicides during the last three months. Suicides by the distressed farmers have also been reported from districts like Amravati, Yavatmal in Vidarbha and most parts of the neighbouring Marathwada region,” leading farm activist and Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavlamban Mission (VNSSM) chairman Kishor Tiwari says.
Another major issue that is bound to go against the BJP-led saffron alliance government in Maharashtra is the pathetically poor implementation of the Rs 34,022 crore loan waiver scheme “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Krishi Samman Yojana” which it announced on June 4 2017.
Under the waiver scheme, the Maharashtra government was to waive the apicultural loans 89 lakh farmers. Of them, early 40 lakh farmers were expected to become totally debt-free, a situation that would have facilitated them to take fresh loans from banks. Of the total beneficiaries under the scheme, a total 36.10 lakh farmers were eligible for a financial assistance of Rs 1.50 lakh each to clear their piled up loans.
There is no ready official data as to the actual number farmers whose agricultural loans have been waived. “As per information available with us, the agricultural loans of around 50 per cent of the total beneficiary farmers have been waived. Even out of this 50 per cent of beneficiaries, the actual benefits have reached 25 per cent of the beneficiaries. From our estimates, only 18 per cent of the loan-waived farmers have been able to apply for fresh loans from loans,” Tiwari says.
Weeks before the Shiv Sena entered an electoral alliance with the BJP for the Lok Sabha polls, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray – till then a bitter critic of the BJP -- had tried to corner the Devendra Fadnavis dispensation on the farm loan waiver issue. “The Maharashtra government talks about the implementation of loan waivers. But, in reality nothing has happened. Show me farmers whose farm loans have loans have been waived. The state government has also not bothered to given compensation to farmers, What farmers have got in the form of crop insurance are a few hundred rupees. Now we hear how the Modi government has taken the farmers for a ride by indulging in a scam equivalent to the Rafale scam,” Uddhav had said. It is another matter that the same Uddhav – whose Sena is now part of the ruling saffron alliance – is signing a different tune.
The agrarian distress will have a negative bearing on the electoral prospects of the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in at least seven out of the ten Lok Sabha constituencies in Vidarabha region and all the eight Lok Sabha constituencies in adjoining Marathwada region. However, the issue relating the state government’s failure to waive farm loans of even half the affected farmers – will matters difficult for the BJP-Shiv Sena government in all rural areas of the state.
The issue of unemployment in general and loss of jobs due to demonetisation in particular will also bearing on the voting preferences of the youth living in both the rural and urban areas of the state.
The extent of unemployment in Maharashtra can be gauged from the fact that in January-February this year, the state government received a recoded 8 lakh applications for 4,400 class-III and class-IV jobs for which it had advertised in late December last year. A maximum of 4.3 lakh applications were received for 1,218 forest guard jobs.
The findings of a pre-poll survey conducted in Maharashtra by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) released early this week showed that more than 42 percent of those surveyed put jobs as their top priority, followed by drinking water (37.53) and agro-loans availability (29) for casting their votes.
Much to the discomfort of the ruling BJP at the Centre and in the State, the performance of the government on all top three voters’ priorities of Better Employment Opportunities (2.48 on a scale of 5), Drinking Water (2.52) and Agriculture Loan Availbility (2.35) was rated as Below Average.
Similarly, In rural Maharashtra, top most voters’ priorities were Agriculture Loan Availability (51%), Availability of Water for Agriculture (49%) and Higher Price Realization of Farm Products (46%).
The performance of the government on rural voters’ priorities of Agriculture Loan Availability (2.35 on a scale of 5), Availability of water for agriculture (2.29) and Higher Price Realization of Farm Products (2.17) was rated as Below Average. In addition, the government has performed poorly in providing Agriculture subsidy for seeds/fertilisers (2.24) and Electricity for Agriculture (2.27).
For the urban voters in Maharashtra, the top most priorities were Better Employment Opportunities (48%), Drinking Water (43%) and Traffic Congestion (35%).
The performance of the government on urban voters’ priorities of Better Employment Opportunities (2.27), Drinking Water (2.32) and Traffic Congestion (2.10) was rated as Below Average. In addition, the government has performed poorly on Noise Pollution (2.17) and Better Roads (2.32).
Though there have been reports about the use of cash in the polls, the incidence of use of cash, liquor and gifts is not as rampant as it in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
However, the ADR’s pre-poll survey – which reached out 24,000 respondents across all 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra –threw up an interesting finding:
“For 17% voters, distribution of cash, liquor, gifts etc. was an important (12%) and very important (5%) factor in voting a particular candidate in an election”.
In terms of issues, the ruling BJP finds itself on a sticky wicket in the state. No wonder that Prime Minister Narendra Modi concentrated his energies on attacking the Congress, Rahul Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar at his two rallies at Wardha and Gondia, both in eastern Maharashtra. He had very little or nothing to say about his government’s achievements or promises.
At a rally held at Wardha on April 1, Modi tore into the Opposition “Mahaghatbandhan” in Maharashtra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi by saying that the people in the country had made up their mind “punish” the Congress for coining the term “Hindu terror” and ‘insulting’ the majority community in the eyes of the world, and ridiculed NCP chief Sharad Pawar for preferring out of the Lok Sabha contest.
Two days later at Gondi, Modi targetted Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, saying that “big NCP leaders” were not getting sleep these days because of the “fear” that a person lodged currently in Delhi’s Tihar Jail might make shocking disclosures about them. Describing the Congress’ ghosnapatra (manifesto) as dhakosla patra (hypocritical document), the Prime Minister slammed the the principal Opposition party’s promise to repeal sedition law and said the Congress’ manifesto was a blue print of Pakistan’s conspiracies.
On the contrary, Congress president Rahul Gandhi spent a major part of his address at a public rally held at Nagpur where he spoke about his party’s proposed minimum income guarantee programme --Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) and plans to create jobs across the country.
