Farmers' plight spurs PM to take road less travelled

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's tour of Andhra Pradesh villages has apparently spurred him to hit the road in a big way. According to officials in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), moved by the plight of farmers in Andhra Pradesh, Manmohan has now decided to go in search of the "human face" he had mentioned in his first press conference.

The Prime Minister, who admitted to being more of a "numbers man", found the Andhra Pradesh experience so moving that he could not sleep at night. "What I saw in Andhra, the kind of problems faced by farmers, kept me awake," Manmohan told one of his aides. He confessed that the experience was "educative beyond anything".

Manmohan appears keen to continue on his education and has planned more visits around the country.

"Although he has not decided on the places he will visit, it should surprise no one if he is seen less in Delhi," said an official. "The Prime Minister has talked about visiting the interiors of the country," he added.

Possible destinations could be villages in Maharashtra and Karnataka, which have also seen suicides by farmers unable to cope with the burden of debt. With Assembly polls due in Maharshtra, Manmohan's "healing touch" could not have come at a better time.

When the Prime Minister does hit the road, he will be following in the footsteps of his party president Sonia Gandhi. Her Jan Sampark Yatra before the elections proved to be more effective than glitzy airborne 'carpet bomb' election campaigns by BJP ministers.

A similar exercise by Andhra Chief Minister Y Rajasekhara Reddy in the Andhra heartland helped him dislodge N Chandrababu Naidu from the chief minister's chair.

Manmohan's only brush with mass politics came when he fought and lost the Lok Sabha elections in 1998 from the elite South Delhi constituency.

Although Manmohan had presided over the fiscal health of the government in one capacity or the other throughout his career, the weight of the mandate for the UPA government is driving him towards the Indian farmer. Just how far he will go to fulfill his promises will be telling.