By-poll electioneering in Odisha hots up in the midst of dry spell

Bijepur, an Assembly constituency in the western part of Odisha, will presently have a by-election because of the death of its MLA, who belonged to the Congress.
 
Political activity for the by-poll has reached a high pitch though the Election Commission is yet to announce the date for the poll. Understandably so, because this is going to be a litmus test for three major parties in the state — the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Congress — with the general election to the Lok Sabha and the Assembly barely one and half years away. Importantly, there will be one point to watch, i.e. how the parties are gearing up to woo the peasants, who, like elsewhere in the state, constitute the majority of the voters, particularly when large parts of the state are facing drought.
 
Bijepur was a stronghold of the Congress with the deceased MLA, Subal Sahu, winning there three times in a row. However, the panchayat elections held earlier this year saw a decline in its vote share with a large chunk of it shifting to the BJP, which did exceptionally well by polling 93,000 votes compared to the BJD’s 44,000 and the Congress’ 23,000 in the polls for zilla parishad seats. In a political twist, in the run-up to the by-poll, while the BJD has roped in the wife of the deceased MLA to cash in on sympathy factor, the BJP has inducted the BJD’s former MLA from the seat, Ashok Panigrahi, into the party to bolster its position. With both likely to be candidates from their newly adopted parties, the constituency awaits a pitched battle.  
 
According to sources, nearly a third of the state, which has 314 blocks, are staring at drought. A review of the situation by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik revealed only one of the 30 districts in the state has received more than normal rain, while it was normal in 20 districts. But, rain has been less than normal in the remaining nine. Patnaik has asked all district collectors to submit reports on rain and the status of farming in their districts by October 15.
 

State Scan: Odisha

In a relief to the farmers, the Odisha government has amended its policy of declaring an area dry spell-affected. It has decided to shift from its earlier practice of waiting for crop-cutting reports and instead would now declare a panchayat hit by a dry spell if it receives less than 50 per cent rain of the normal for three consecutive weeks, says Revenue Minister Maheswar Mohanty.
 
But, politics over farm issues go much beyond the current drought. Long before parts of the state were affected by the dry spell and soon after the UP government announced a loan waiver for the farmers in the state (UP), followed by a few other BJP-ruled states, the saffron brigade had raised demands for granting similar relief for agriculturists in Odisha.
 
This has been countered by the ruling BJD, which held demonstrations in the state in support of a higher minimum support price (MSP) for paddy, something which has to be approved by the Central government. It criticised the Centre’s decision to increase the MSP for paddy by only Rs 80 per quintal.
 
“In its election manifesto, the BJP had promised to double the MSP for paddy based on the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee but the Centre has not done so,” said party Vice-President and Food Supplies Minister Surjya Narayan Patro.
 
On the other hand, senior BJP leader Bhrugu Baxipatra criticised the state government for dithering on taking measures to address the drought. He blamed inadequate farm infrastructure such as poor irrigation and marketing facilities, lack of access to institutional credit, limited storage space, and lack of timely supply of inputs for farmers.
 
Various farmers’ organisation are regrouping to vent their voice against both the Centre and the state. A rally of farmers is planned on October 30 in Bhubaneswar under the aegis of the Odisha Krushak Sangathan Samanwaya Samiti to press for demands like implementing the Swaminathan Committee report, removing discrepancies in the crop insurance policy of the Centre, granting bonus to peasants, and identifying sharecroppers by the state. “None of the political parties is keen to resolve farmers’ issues. They only want to keep an eye on the vote,” says Rabi Das, a leader of the Naba Nirman Krushak Sangathan, which has been fighting for “price, prestige, and pension” for farmers in the state.