- By Abhinav Gupta
- Mon, 21 Oct 2019 09:13 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: The ruling BJP has sharpened its narrative on nationalism in its campaign for the Assembly elections in Maharashtra with the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir emerging as its key poll plank.
The BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been making a big pitch about the issue, saying that such a "bold" step could be taken only by a strong and decisive government.
However, under the shadow of BJP’s high-decibel pitch for Article 370, agricultural distress, local employment, business and water crisis have emerged as the main issues which may decide the course of these elections. Here’s a look at some of them:
Agricultural crisis
Regions like Marathwada and Vidarbha have been the worst-hit by drought and farmers’ debts that has reportedly led some overextended borrowers to commit suicide. The recent floods in western Maharashtra and Konkan have worsened rural distress.
An RTI has revealed that over 15,000 farmers have committed suicide in Maharashtra between 2013 and 2018. Out of the total 15,356 farmer suicides during the six-year period, 396 cases were reported between 1 January 2019 to 28 February 2019.
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While the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance have blamed NCP supremo and former Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and his policies for farmer suicides in the state, opposition Congress and NCP have blamed the state government for the deaths of 15,000 farmers in the last five years.
The BJP, in its poll manifesto for Maharashtra, has a whole gamut of promises for farmers like providing credit at reasonable rates and piped water to rural households under the Marathwada water grid.
Meanwhile, its ally Shiv Sena has sought to address farmers’ issues by promising Rs 10,000 to those in need. Party chief Uddhav Thackeray said it would be ensured that every individual farmer is covered under crop insurance. The manifesto also promises that the prices of fertilizers remain constant in the event that the party is elected for the 5-year tenure.
The Congress-NCP alliance, on the other hand, had released their manifesto on October 7, promising immediate farm loan waiver.
Employment/Business
According to a IANS-CVoter poll survey, 23.1 per cent of respondents, who were asked about the "Biggest issue for you at the moment", opted for the "Status of local employment/business".
According to a survey conducted by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), Maharashtra’s unemployment rate has risen from 4.6 percent in January 2016 to 5.3 percent in August 2019.
The opposition has repeatedly used the issue of unemployment as ammunition against the BJP-Shiv Sena government in the state. The BJP, in its manifesto, has promised to provide 1 crore jobs in the next five years.
PMC Bank Crisis
What initially started as a bank fraud later turned into a key election issue in Maharashtra. Media reports claim that the crisis has led to four depositors of the scam-hit bank lose their lives, after the RBI imposed restriction on the withdrawal limit.
Campaigning in the state for the Congress, former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to defuse the crisis, which he said, was depriving depositors of their life-savings.
On 10 October, Sitharaman said the government will set up a committee comprising two secretaries and an RBI deputy governor to amend the cooperative bank regulatory framework.
Meanwhile, Fadnavis, who is seeking a second term, said on 15 October that he will seek the Union government’s help on the PMC crisis.
The PMC Bank fiasco has its roots in loan exposures to real estate developer Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) which turned bad but went unreported to the central bank. HDIL is promoted by the father-son duo of Rakesh and Sarang Wadhawan.
Other Issues
The status of water supply has also emerged as a key issue for the voters in Maharashtra. As per the IANS-CVoter survey, 18.4 per cent respondents highlighted it as the second biggest issue for them.
Condition of local roads stood third in the sample, with 14.1 per cent respondents identifying it as one of the biggest issues.
The issue of "condition of social/caste/religious harmony" figured very poorly in the survey, with less than 1 per cent identifying it as an issue in Maharashtra.
Control on corruption in government was one of the biggest issues for merely 1.4 per cent respondents, according to the survey.
