How price politics over garlic could sway assembly polls in MP, Rajasthan

After demonetisation, in March 2017, when garlic harvest started arriving in the markets, it sold at prices which were much lower than what farmers expected

On October 25, while addressing a rally in Jhalawar, Rajasthan, Rahul Gandhi spoke about garlic prices hitting rock-bottom in the region. Prices had fallen to Rs 2 a kilogram, he said.

In Madhya Pradesh too, Gandhi spoke about falling garlic prices. In fact, he began the poll campaign in June from Mandsaur, which saw a massive farmer’s agitation in 2017 in which six farmers lost their lives to police firing. Garlic selling at Rs 1-2 a kilogram was one of the triggers for the Mandsaur agitation.

Until recently, garlic was a major cash crop in the Malwa region in western