The farmer’s jigsaw: movement fails to impact outcome in U.P.
The Hindu
The direct cash transfer through the PM Kisan scheme may have aided the BJP
The year-long farmers’ protest against the three farm laws was expected to play a decisive role in a State like Uttar Pradesh where farmers make up an important voting bloc, given that over two-thirds households are engaged in farming activities.
However, in what appears to be a repeat of 2019 where despite strong discontent the BJP managed to win over farmers, the party again seems to have successfully neutralised the anti-government sentiment among them.
The evidence from the post-poll survey conducted by Lokniti-CSDS indicates the BJP-led alliance enjoying a comfortable lead over the alliance led by the Samajwadi Party (SP) among the farmer voters and the voters of farming households. The SP’s improved performance seems largely due to the support of non-farming households.
As Table 1 highlights, the BJP-led alliance secures a 13 percentage points lead over the SP among the voters belonging to farming households, while among the voters of non-farming households, the two parties stand shoulder-to-shoulder.
When we segregate the voters of farming households on the basis of their stand with regard to the farmers’ protests, the BJP is found to be ahead of the SP by 10 percentage points even among the sympathisers.
Among nearly half the farming households that either oppose the protests or are non-committal about it, the BJP enjoys leads of four and 23 percentage points respectively.
So what explains this overwhelming support of farming households to the BJP despite registering their dissatisfaction?