BJP Targets Bengal Farmers with Pre-Poll Protests, Aiming to Gain Rural Support
Kisan Morcha Demonstrations, Farmer Meetings Planned Amidst Accusations and Counter-Claims from Trinamul and AIKS
Prior to the 2024 parliamentary elections, the BJP has made the decision to focus on problems affecting farmers in an effort to connect with Bengal's rural populace.
To draw attention to the issues Bengali farmers face, the BJP peasant wing Kisan Morcha will begin holding protests outside the sub-divisional officials' offices across the state on Monday.
This state administration has always claimed to speak for farmers. But even after winning a third term in office, farmers are still being pressured to sell their crops at a loss. As a protest against the state's farmers' predicament, the Kisan Morcha would begin organizing on Monday, according to Bengal BJP chief spokesman Samik Bhattacharya.
The party has other plans as well, such as meeting with district farmers to increase the number of members in the peasant wing.
A team of farmers will meet with governor C.V. Ananda Bose on Wednesday to discuss concerns pertaining to the agricultural community, according to a top Kisan Morcha leader.
There are over 72 lakh farmers in Bengal, and the CPM's All India Kisan Sabha has been closely linked to the peasant organization even though the state has seen electoral setbacks since 2011.
Trinamul leaders responded to the BJP's effort by claiming that a party that had erected barbed fences in Delhi to stop protesting peasants had no right to speak out in favor of the agricultural community.
"The farmers are aware of the how the Delhi police, commanded by Amit Shah, handled the farmers who were demonstrating during the march in Delhi. The Bengal government's fertilizer allocation has been cut by the Narendra Modi administration. Speaking for Trinamul, Tanmoy Ghosh described this as nothing more than a political ploy by the BJP in advance of the elections.
The All India Kisan Sabha's state secretary, Amal Halder, said that the Modi administration has ceased exporting high-quality rice grown in East Burdwan and Hooghly.
"In order to give north Indian Basmati rice a competitive edge, the BJP administration at the Centre has halted the export of Golap Bhog produced in Bengal. The anti-farmer policies of the BJP are well known to our farmers," Halder said.
