Bihar Assembly poll campaign puts spotlight on tenant farmers' rights

Campaigning for the Bihar polls has put spotlight on tenant farmers' rights, even as tenancy legalisation remains contentious

As the high-stakes assembly election campaign peaks in Bihar, the issue of tenant farmers and sharecroppers — and their rights — has gained political traction.

 

One of the key promises made by the Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagathbandhan (MGB) is to extend the benefits of the minimum support price (MSP), cheaper loans through Kisan Credit Cards, and other government schemes to sharecroppers. For this, they propose issuing special identity cards to such farmers.

 

The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), or CPI(ML), a crucial ally within the MGB, has also pledged in