-The Times of India blog With little over than a year left for the 2019 general elections, the Narendra Modi led NDA government has finally remembered the farmers of the country. Last week, finance minister Arun Jaitley said agriculture sector is the government’s top priority in this year’s budget. This has left many surprised considering BJP had promised to ensure a minimum of 50% profit over cost of production in their...
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Why farmers don't have electoral clout -Avik Saha and Yogendra Yadav
-Down to Earth Although farmers vote at least as much, if not more than industrial workers or urban middle classes, elections are not fought around farmers' issues Elections are about numbers. Democratic politics is about stitching together a majority. So, the larger a group, the bigger is its “vote bank”, and greater is its electoral clout. A social group that constitutes a majority can therefore dictate its terms in an electoral democracy....
More »Lunch thali for Rs 10: BJP civic bodies seek way to voters' hearts -Paras Singh
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: A whole meal for 10 bucks may sound unrealistic in today's world but subsidised food has been a popular poll promise of almost all political parties. Taking a cue from the popularity of "Amma canteens" in Tamil Nadu, civic bodies in the capital, too, rolled out half a dozen "Atal Aahaar Kendra" centres on Monday, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birthday, which will dole...
More »Gujarat's Adivasi Migrants: Unseen and Unheard by Party Manifestos -Divya Varma and Sangeeth Sugathan
-TheWire.in An estimated 35 lakh Adivasis in Gujarat seasonally migrate to cities for work but the grand electoral promises of BJP and Congress fail to acknowledge their issues. Sharma Bhuriya seems disillusioned with the recently released party manifestos ahead of the Gujarat elections. “There is nothing in it for people like me. I have been living on pavements in Ahmedabad for more than 20 years now and have been thrown around like...
More »How Long Can India's Farmers Subsidise the Nation? -Kirankumar Vissa
-TheWire.in The farmers have done their job. The nation has failed to deliver them a decent income in return. Farmers are coming onto the streets across the country – in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and now from all states into Delhi. As the agitations intensify and take a national character, it is necessary for the nation to understand what is driving them. Are they asking for the sky,...
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