Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Modi promises access to water, power to all farmers
BackBack

Modi promises access to water, power to all farmers

BJP's prime ministerial candidate blames Congress-led UPA government for not focusing on development

Narendra Modi has already promised that if the NDA is voted to power it will rework the formula to fix the minimum support price for crops such as rice and wheat to include profit and protect input costs. Photo: PTIPremium
Narendra Modi has already promised that if the NDA is voted to power it will rework the formula to fix the minimum support price for crops such as rice and wheat to include profit and protect input costs. Photo: PTI

New Delhi/Chennai: A day before 121 Lok Sabha constituencies are to vote in the fifth phase of the national election, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi on Wednesday promised access to water and power to all farmers—a sizeable population—if the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by his party comes to power.

Twelve states go to the polls on Thursday: Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Blaming the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for not focusing on development, Modi said people had repeatedly voted for the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh because it was the only party that strongly focused on development as an election agenda.

“During the tenure of Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the prime minister, the BJP-led NDA had launched Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna, which focused on rural roads. This time the BJP-NDA government will come out with a new scheme to provide water and electricity to all farmers," Modi said at an election rally in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri district.

Modi has already promised that if the NDA is voted to power it will rework the formula to fix the minimum support price (MSP) for crops such as rice and wheat to include profit and protect input costs.

The Gujarat chief minister has said that the new formula will include the entire cost of production and 50% profit.

Farmers are a key constituency—49% of the national electorate still draw employment from agriculture.

“Industries are suffering because of power shortage. Farmers don’t get electricity. Imagine what is the situation in rural India. Energy security is the promise made by BJP in the election," Modi said.

Pointing to the acute shortage of electricity in Tamil Nadu, Modi blamed the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre for the unavailability of coal for power plants in the country.

The BJP leader campaigned in Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu on Thursday. The two states together comprise 69 Lok Sabha seats.

Opinion polls have ranked the BJP under Modi as the front-runner in the nine-phase general election that ends on 12 May.

Results will be declared on 16 May. In Tamil Nadu, which votes on 24 April, the BJP did not win a single Lok Sabha seat in the 2009 general election.

This time, the BJP has allied with a number of small regional parties in the state—Paattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Kongu Nadu Makkal Desiya Katchi, and Indiya Jananayaka Katchi —to take on the traditionally dominant All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

The BJP-led NDA “will brighten your lives with availability of clean drinking water and power", Modi said at Krishnagiri, from where the PMK’s G.K. Mani is contesting.

BJP president Rajnath Singh last month claimed that the NDA would win 25 seats of the 39 in Tamil Nadu while announcing the seat-sharing agreement with the BJP’s partners in the state.

“Dravidian parties who alternate in being in power in Tamil Nadu, be it All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, spend the five years in power blaming each other and fail to implement and look at welfare measures of people," Modi said.

Political analysts watching Modi’s attempts to woo voters in Tamil Nadu say that while there is formidable support for him, the BJP’s tie-ups with small regional parties may not help it win seats here.

“BJP had put together a second-rate alliance in Tamil Nadu with very, very small political parties that have limited influence," said Parakala Prabhakar, a Hyderabad-based political analyst.

“The slogan given by Modi about water, power and roads will not help BJP because the perception is that the issues are related to state government."

gyan.v@livemint.com

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Politics News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
More Less
Published: 16 Apr 2014, 11:55 PM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App