Ahead of Delhi polls, Centre under pressure from NDA allies to hold talks with farmers

As the protests by farmer organisations continue for a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) among other demands, several farmer organisations have met finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss the issues being faced by farmers in the country.

While urging the government to hold talks with the protesters, the farmer organisations have also asked the government to come out with a policy on ‘ease of farming’ in the country on the lines of ease of doing business.

Farmers seek dialogue

Dharmendra Malik, national spokesperson of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Arajnitik), who was part of the meeting with the finance minister, told The Federal, “We have urged Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to ensure the dialogue process starts between the Union government and protesting farmers.”

Further, he shared, “Just as the Union government has taken several steps to improve the ease of doing business in the country, similarly, government must make policy interventions to ensure there is also ease of doing farming. We’ve told the government that solutions to farmers’ concerns can only be reached by holding talks with the protesting farmers.”

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Apart from reaching out to senior members in the Union cabinet, the farmer organisations have also asked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s alliance partners to intervene and ensure there is dialogue between farmers and protesters. The protesting farmer organisations have also reached out to Union minister Jayant Singh, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief, asking him to intervene for an early resolution to the problem.

Ramashish Rai, Uttar Pradesh's RLD state president told The Federal, “The protesting farmers have reached out to Union minister Jayant Singh to convince the Union government to hold a dialogue with the farmers. The RLD has a clear policy on farmers' issue and we want the Union government to hold talks with them.”

“The RLD chief has also spoken to senior ministers in the Union government to ensure the dialogue starts at the earliest. Since RLD is a party of farmers, it is important for us that there is continuous dialogue between the Union government and the farmers,” Rai said.

Limit spread of protests

Meanwhile, the RLD leadership is also taking steps to ensure that the protests do not spread to areas in western Uttar Pradesh (UP).

The RLD leadership is continuously holding talks with farmer leaders and organisations to try and convince them that the Union government will address their concerns over MSP and they should not join the protests.

Rai pointed out, “RLD chief Jayant Singh is aware of the farmers’ concerns and he is trying to convince farmers' leaders and organisations that Union government will find a solution to their concerns about MSP and better prices and they should not join the protests. As a result of these efforts, no farmer organisation in western UP has given a call for protests.”

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Impact on Delhi polls

Buoyed by the election victory in Haryana a couple of months ago, the BJP leadership is confident that it will be able to replicate its performance in the Delhi assembly as well, especially in constituencies adjoining Haryana and western UP.

Ahead of the assembly elections in Delhi, which are expected in January-February 2025, the fight over the Jat voters has already started between the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

While the BJP is hopeful that it will be able to improve its electoral chances in Delhi, senior leaders of the party are also worried that just as the farmers' protest impacted BJP’s hold over the Jat community in Haryana, the continuing farmer protests could also impact BJP’s performance in Delhi.

BJP’s confidence in constituencies adjacent to Haryana and western UP is not just because of the recent electoral performance in Haryana, but the BJP believes its chances have improved after former AAP minister Kailash Gahlot joined the BJP in November.

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Soon after Gahlot, who was the prominent Jat face in AAP, joined the BJP, the regional party decided to promote Raghuvinder Shokeen, a Jat leader from Delhi Nangloi area, to replace Gahlot in the state government. The AAP has also inducted Somesh Shokeen, former Congress MLA from Matiala constituency, to boost its image among Jat voters of Delhi.

“The AAP has consistently done well in the areas adjoining Haryana and western UP for the two terms in government. It will be interesting to see the impact of the farmers’ protests in constituencies where Jats are in considerable numbers. This is because AAP has done well in these constituencies even before the protest by the farmers started,” Abhay Kumar Dubey, author and professor at CSDS, told The Federal.