Farmers’ Fury: Slow Paddy Procurement Risks BJP’s Electoral Fortunes – OpEd
By Ameer Zaman
In Haryana’s Kaithal, Mahesh, a paddy farmer, sits worried beside heaps of unsold grain in the mandi, having spent several sleepless nights guarding his produce from damage under the open sky.
He is not alone. Across Haryana, thousands of farmers face the same dilemma—six months of hard labor lying unsold and vulnerable to the elements due to the government’s delayed procurement process. For these farmers, going to vote in the October 5 assembly elections has become secondary to ensuring that their crops are not wasted.
The paddy procurement in Haryana, originally set to begin on September 23, was first postponed to October 1, and then moved forward to September 27. However, despite these adjustments, the process has been painfully slow, worsened by a rice millers’ strike. With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seeking a third consecutive term in the state, the unresolved procurement crisis is fueling a wave of anti-incumbency sentiment among farmers. The anger that led to BJP losing five of Haryana’s ten seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections has only deepened in the last four months, further alienating the farming community.
Jaswinder Singh, a farmer in Yamunanagar, voices the growing frustration: “First they beat us up at the borders during the farmers’ protests, and now they leave our crops to rot in the mandis. Governments must change every five years to remain accountable.” The issue of paddy procurement is not merely a logistical one; it has become a symbol of the BJP’s disconnect with Haryana’s farming community. For Mahesh and countless other farmers, the six-month delay in procurement is a reminder of the government’s failure to address their concerns. The delay also highlights the larger issue of farmer distress, which has dominated the election narrative in the state.
The Root of Farmer Discontent
The roots of this discontent stretch back to the 2020-21 farmers’ protests against the three farm laws proposed by the central government. Although the laws were eventually repealed, the scars of that struggle remain fresh. Farmers from Haryana and Punjab had marched toward Delhi, demanding a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) and other reforms. The movement was met with a brutal crackdown by the BJP-led government in Haryana, with barricades, tear gas, and police brutality deployed to stop the farmers at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders. One young farmer, Shubhkaran Singh, was even shot dead by security forces during a standoff at the Khanauri border in February 2024.
As the assembly elections approach, the same demands that fueled the farmers’ protests—MSP, better wages under MGNREGA, and improved labor rights—continue to resonate. Farmers at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders remain steadfast in their sit-in protests, refusing to be co-opted by political parties. They have made their message clear: defeat the BJP in the upcoming elections, but remain independent from the Congress or any other political entity.
Competing Promises for the Farmers’ Vote
In response to the farmers’ grievances, both the BJP and the Congress have made competing promises on MSP. The Congress has reiterated its pledge from the Lok Sabha elections—a legal guarantee for MSP if voted to power. In contrast, the BJP has promised to provide MSP on 24 crops, an attempt to recover from its losses in the 2024 general elections. The newly appointed chief minister, Nayab Singh Saini, has also promised MSP for all crops in the state. Yet, for many farmers, these promises ring hollow, given the government’s failure to address their immediate concerns. “A lot of anger calmed after Khattar was replaced by Saini, but the biggest issue remains MSP. Farmers know that the paddy procurement crisis is a central government issue,” said a BJP worker in Radaur. Despite the party’s efforts, the slow procurement and the ongoing rice millers’ strike have only added to the perception that the BJP is out of touch with the needs of Haryana’s farmers.
As the BJP struggles to address the paddy crisis and quell the farmers’ anger, it risks alienating a key constituency that could determine the outcome of the election. The slow procurement of paddy, coupled with the unresolved demands from the farmers’ protests, suggests that the BJP may face significant losses in the state.
