Political dividend frittered away as farmers' unity remains elusive

The National College grounds in Bengaluru recently saw hundreds of farmers donning the quintessential green shawl and cheering for Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) president Kodihalli Chandrashekar, as he officially joined the Aam Aadmi Party.

“All three political parties in the state have let down farmers over the years. They have not brought a single policy to improve the financial condition of farmers. We have no choice, but to represent ourselves,” Kodihalli explains to DH on why he joined AAP.

He actively took part in the farmers’ protests in Delhi last year, seeking a roll back of the Centre’s controversial farm laws.

Over the years, the Raitha Sangha has tried to remain non-partisan, but this approach has not yielded results as political parties have not gone beyond sloganeering for farmers’ welfare.

The 2023 Assembly election is an opportunity for farmers to pitch for their own welfare, he adds.

Kodihalli’s optimism draws from examples in Karnataka’s political history where farmers have brought a political shift.

Farmers’ groups turned against the ruling Congress and were key to bringing the Janata Party-led government to power in the state in 1983, after the Gundu Rao government opened fire against protesting farmers in Naragund and Navalgund in 1980.

Karnataka Sugarcane Growers’ Association president Kuruburu Shanthakumar gives a more recent example of how farmers campaigned against incumbent MLAs in the old Mysore region in 2004, for failing to stand by them in the Kabini water row.

“We were protesting against release of water to Tamil Nadu as our crops were drying. None of the politicians supported us. We gave a call to defeat all the incumbents and at least 11 MLAs lost the elections,” he recalls.

Karnataka has seen several farmer leaders successfully transition to politics while remaining rooted to farmers’ movement.

K S Puttannaiah, who served as president of the Rajya Raitha Sangha, was elected as an MLA first in 1994 from Pandavapura, which later became Melkote constituency. He was re-elected from Melkote in 2013.

Babagouda Patil, a founder-member of KRRS, was the minister of state for rural development in the A B Vajpayee government.

However, much has changed over the years from the days of stalwarts of the movement like M D Nanjundaswamy.

The farmers’ movement in the state has fizzled out with the KRRS being a divided house, points out A Narayana, associate professor, Azim Premji University.

“Perhaps, the only time when farmers’ anger resulted in the defeat of the ruling party was in 1983. The bungling of the Congress government in handling farmers’ movement turned them decisively against the ruling party,” he observes.

Today, farmers no longer stand united with a strong identity based on their occupation, which would make them vote for a candidate or party overlooking other identities such as caste, religion and region, he says.

Shanthakumar concurs. “Farmers’ groups in the state need to stand together as one federation. While there are stray examples of farmers’ leaders contesting elections, they have been unable to generate a larger support base of voters as they work in isolation,” he adds.

What does this mean for mainstream political parties?

“Kodihalli Chandrashekar joining AAP may not make much difference as his is only one among many factions. However, for a party like the Congress, farmers form a crucial voter base,” points our Sachin Meega, who leads the Congress farmers’ wing in Karnataka.

Meega cited the recent ‘Mekedatu padayatra’ as a means to connect with the farmers.

Not to be left behind, the JD(S) too has embarked upon Janata Jaladhare, a statewide water campaign, mainly catering to farmers.

The regional party’s support base largely constitutes farmers and the party, with initiatives like the loan waiver during the tenure of Kumaraswamy as chief minister, has shown commitment to farmers, says JD(S) spokesperson T A Sharavana.