Stir puts Cong, NCP in quandary

The farmers' agitation in the state has put the Congress and NCP in a bind as Western and Southern Maharashtra have been traditional bastions for both the parties, especially the NCP.

Most of the sugar co-operatives are also controlled by the NCP or Congress leaders. However, the BJP-Sena combine is not in a position to gain from the opportunity due to internal divisions over the issue.

The agitation by the farmers' organisation like Shetkari Sanghtna and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtna has spread like a wild fire in the Western, Southern and Marathwada regions of the state.

These organisations are demanding a price of Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,200 per tonne of sugar against the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 850 declared by the state government.

Shetkari Sanghtna president Sharad Joshi has threatened to go on an indefinite hunger strike from November 16 if their demands are not met.

The stir has resulted in only 54 sugar factories out of the total 154 being able to start their crushing season, which normally begins in mid-October.

It is being feared in political circles that the large-scale agitation might upset the chances of both NCP and Congress in the local self-government elections which are beginning with the municipal council elections on November 15, followed by municipal elections in late January and Zilla Parishad elections in early February.

State Energy Minister and chairman of the sugar co-operative from Pune district Dileep Walse-Patil said, "Farmers' organisation should take realistic view of the situation and as co-operative factories also belong to farmers, it is in their interest to ensure these factories flourish."

It is unlikely that the BJP-Sena combine will take full advantage of the farmers' discontent in the forthcoming elections. In local elections, issues like the caste of the candidate and power supply are likely to dominate, Walse-Patil pointed out. Further, over the years, BJP leaders like Gopinath Munde and Nitin Gadkari have themselves become sugar barons.

When contacted, Gadkari remained mum on whether the BJP supports the agitation. On the other hand, Sena, which has hardly any stake in the sugar industry of the state, is supporting the agitation whole-heartedly.