Siddipet/Armoor/Nirmal: A vote for Patil in Zaheerabad and Raghunandan Rao in Medak is a direct vote for Modi, declared Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an election rally in Zaheerabad on Tuesday.
With the fault lines clearly defined and the polls for 17 Lok Sabha segments just 13 days away, the electoral battle in Telangana is not just between the ambitious BJP and the resurgent Congress. While BRS is struggling to stay afloat, the Congress's six guarantees versus Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal are the focus.
A drive through Telangana's hinterlands evokes the dominant mood on the ground. While farmers are disappointed that the Revanth Reddy government has not implemented the farm loan waiver promise, those who want to vote for the BJP are doing so only for PM Narendra Modi.
It's interesting to note that even in interior villages, Modi wins the saffron party vote. Other than farmers, the general public is mostly ready to endorse Congress's implementation of a few of the six guarantees, such as free bus service for women, gas cylinders for ₹500, and a zero bill for 200 units of electricity consumption.
“The Congress government has only been in power for three months, so everything is fine. I have received a zero electricity bill and a gas cylinder for ₹500,” Sanju, a tea vendor in Karimnagar, told DH. He added he could wait for the implementation of additional guarantees in the coming days, possibly after the Lok Sabha elections.
Apart from six guarantees, the Congress manifesto in last year's assembly polls had promised the waiver of farm loans up to ₹2 lakh each while increasing the Rythu Bandhu benefit to ₹15,000 a year from the present ₹10,000, besides bringing tenant farmers under the purview of the scheme.
Farmers responded strongly to the Congress's promise to implement farm loan waivers, among other measures, within 100 days of the party's election victory last year. The non-implementation of the farm loan waiver has concerned the farmers, due to which, as if in damage control mode, state chief minister A Revanth Reddy at every election rally has been assuring the ₹2 lakh farm loan waiver at one go before August 15, swearing on gods. The BJP and BRS also expressed their disapproval.
“Not implementing a loan waiver is definitely a concern. The delay in implementing the loan waiver was somewhat disappointing. Four months have passed since the formation of the new government. We didn't even pay our monthly bank instalment,” a farmer at Ramachandrapuram, close to Siddipet, told DH.
The BJP has been working to establish an ecosystem at the grassroots level in Telangana over the last few years, particularly in the northern part of the state, where reports of communal tensions have been in the news for some time. Modi's frequent visits to Telangana over the last few years have only cemented the party's position. The overwhelming response Modi evokes in his rallies in Telangana stands testimony to his popularity in this Telugu-speaking state.
“Modi has no family, and he works for the country. Our vote is for Modi, but we don't see who the candidate is. The local MP, after winning the 2019 polls on a BJP ticket, became inaccessible to the public. That's the reason why he was replaced and a new person was given the ticket this time to fight,” Bandi Gangaram, who works in a private college in Nirmal town, told DH.
Turmeric board promise
The popularity of Modi sweeping along the towns and villages has been such that the delay in appointing a national turmeric board has not deterred his support among turmeric farmers. The rise in turmeric prices had added to the pro-Modi sentiment, though the price rise is attributed to other reasons like greater demand and a shrink in supply as farmers have stopped cultivating turmeric.
In October, just days before the announcement of the poll schedule for the Telangana Assembly polls, Modi announced the creation of the National Turmeric Board (NTB) in a public meeting in Mahboobnagar.
On the lines of a Tobacco Board, NTB has been a long-pending demand in north Telangana, where turmeric is cultivated on more than 50,000 hectares in the erstwhile combined districts of Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, and Adilabad.
In this region, lakhs of people, including farmers, traders, and those dependent on allied activity, are involved in the cultivation of commercial turmeric. The turmeric crop is very important to farmers' livelihoods in these areas. However, the crop's wide price fluctuation over the years led to losses and affected the very existence of the farmers.
“We can understand the delay in forming the Turmeric Board. We trust and believe in Modi. The 'Modi guarantee' ensures that he will fulfil his promises. We need Modi for our country to prosper,” a turmeric farmer in Ankapur village, Devayi Chinna Narasayya, told DH.
The rate per quintal of turmeric is now hovering between ₹15,000 and ₹16,000, compared to ₹5000 per quintal last year.
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