Farmers' stir to drug abuse, here are 7 issues dominating Punjab ahead of polls

With just over a month left for the Lok Sabha elections in Punjab, the election campaign is gaining momentum in the state with major political players raking up several regional and national issues to garner support.

In a rare multi-cornered contest that the border state is witnessing this time, AAP, Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) are targeting the BJP over issues like the farmer agitation, closure of Indo-Pak trade through Attari border, and rising drug abuse. The BJP is countering the narrative with the achievements of 10-year rule of the Modi regime.

However, the Opposition parties are making the most of the farmers’ stir to corner the BJP, as a majority of the voters in rural Punjab are farmers. The BJP candidates are already facing the heat with many villages putting up posters, denying entry to them for election campaign. Some of them even faced protests from the farmer unions while they were out to campaign in their constituency.

Farmers’ agitation

Led by Samyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political), the farmer unions are demanding a legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all crops, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendations, monthly pension of Rs 10,000 for farmers and farm labourers, and action against the accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, where eight protesting farmers were killed after a car rammed into their group.

The issue assumes great significance in the state with agrarian economy, which is evident from the fact that the SAD was forced to sever its alliance with the BJP following the farmers’ stir in 2020-21. However, the Congress, which was then at the helm, could not cash in on the situation as it was struggling with internal feuds. It was AAP that took advantage of the stir and gained ground in rural areas of the state.

The BJP, on the other hand, talks about the Central government’s five-year contract to purchase five crops, including pulses, maize, and cotton. Party leaders also questioned the demand for MSP for crops not typically grown in Punjab. However, the offer made by the government was rejected by the protesting farmers' unions.

Closure of Indo-Pak trade

The closure of trade between India and Pakistan via Attari border is also one of the major issues, as it has severely impacted Punjab's economy. The bilateral trade benefitted business community in Punjab, apart from generating employment opportunities for the youth in border areas.

The trade bodies have long been demanding the reopening of the integrated check post (ICP) at Atari to facilitate trade between the two countries which was suspended as a fallout of the Pulwama attack in 2019. While India has imposed 200 per cent import duty, Pakistan too has snapped the trade ties with India following the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.

Paucity of funds

The ruling AAP has often accused the Union government of holding back funds meant for development of rural areas in the state.

The AAP leaders now say they will expose the BJP government at the Centre for its “deliberate bid” to break the backbone of the Punjab economy by withholding rural development funds (RDF) worth Rs 8,000 crore. The state government even moved the Supreme Court for the release of RDF.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is already on the offensive, targeting the Modi government for its “anti-Punjab stand” and the “step-motherly treatment” being meted out to the border state. He has often alleged that the Centre was “hell-bent on ruining the state”.

With the rural development fund (RDF) stuck in a legal wrangle, Punjab is banking on centrally sponsored schemes such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana for rural development.

Job crunch and rural debt

Unemployment and rural debt are also key issues in the state. With agriculture being no more financially viable and lack of industrialisation has forced the state’s youth to search for greener pastures in other states or countries. This explains the high number of students from Punjab moving to countries like the US, the UK and Canada for higher studies or jobs.

People are also not happy with the Agniveer Scheme of the Centre, as they feel it has taken away the charm of serving in the Indian army. Punjab has been sending high number of youths to serve in the armed forces for years now.

Debt in rural areas is a major issue. Of the almost 9,000 farmers who died by suicide between 2000 and 2018, 88% had significant debt.

Rising drug abuse

Drugs have been a major issue in the border state as scores of youth fall prey to the menace on account of high rate of unemployment. Moreover, with the state sharing border with Pakistan, the availability of drugs is also not an issue.

The government records indicate that heroin seizures in 2022 reached 647 kg, up 14% from 568 kg in 2021. Though the ruling AAP had formed the government, promising to curb the chain of drug supplies, but nothing much has changed on the ground as drug trade continues to flourish in the state. The Opposition parties have often alleged political and police patronage to the drug traders operating in the state.

Overall debt

In 2023–2024, Punjab was expected to have a budget deficit of around 5.0% of the GSDP. Although this is less than the 5.2% from the previous fiscal year, it is still more than the initial estimate of 3.8%.

The central government's allowable ceiling for the budget deficit in FY23 and FY24 was 3.5% and 4%, respectively, greater in each of these years.

Of all the Indian states, Punjab has one of the highest debt levels. Its outstanding liabilities are projected to be 46.8% of GSDP by the end of 2024.

Punjab has accumulated a debt of over Rs 47,000 crore within a year and a half of AAP taking over the reins of the state, prompting economists to give a call for rationalising freebies amid lack of resources to make fresh capital investments. The Opposition parties have been targeting the AAP government over its failure to shore up the state’s revenue for funding its populist measures though the party promised the same prior to the 2022 assembly polls.

Water crisis

The water problem in Punjab has been a major source of unrest. As per a study conducted by the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), the ground water level in the state dropped from 3 metres to 10 metres from 1998 to 2018. In several areas of the state, the groundwater level has even dropped to as much as 30 metres. The groundwater level depletes by one metre annually in 19 districts out of the 23 districts of Punjab, notes a report.

Since the high-yielding variety seeds need three times more water than conventional seeds, the groundwater level in Punjab is dropping by around 0.49 metres per year. The lack of water has led to both minor and major concerns, ranging from local farmers' union demonstrations against the concretisation of canals to the Punjab-Haryana dispute over the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal.