Solutions to Change

By Anaka Harish Ganesh (Image Courtesy: Business Today) Within 24 hours, three states in the Hindi heartland have changed their political colour from saffron to blue. Is this a vote against the BJP? Or is this a vote for the Congress? The BJP was clearly routed out in Chhattisgarh. But to interpret it either way in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan is too extreme. Voters didn’t award the Congress or put away the BJP as expected in Rajasthan and in Madhya Pradesh, the fight was so close that no one could predict who would form the government until the very end.  In Rajasthan, the dissatisfaction with the Vasundhara Raje government was thick in the air and for the past 25 years, the state has never re-elected the incumbent. There was also a perception of Raje as arrogant and a visible strain in the relationship between her and Amit Shah. In addition to this, the ability to connect with farmers and the youth over farm distress, unemployment and the anger over SC...

By Anaka Harish Ganesh Recently it was reported that Australia is taking legal action against India at the WTO for “far exceeding” the level of farmer assistance permitted under WTO rules in the sugar industry. They allege that this has caused a “significant downturn” in global prices and have hurt Australian producers. These subsidies and this issue are just the tip of the iceberg. Looking deeper, a domestic political battle for a significant constituency will reveal itself. Sugarcane farmers are an important constituency in UP, Maharashtra and Karnataka, but for now I will only analyse their effect on the upcoming elections in Maharashtra.  Of the 542 sugar mills in India, 187 are in Maharashtra and of the total sugar production in the state, around 77% is confined to the regions of Marathwada and Paschim Maharashtra (the blue and green regions in the below image). The sugarcane farmers in these 2 regions are an important constituency as they an impact on 10-1...

By Piyush Prakash Yadav Image courtesy - Election Tamasha The Madhya Pradesh Assembly Poll results is set to define the mood of the voters in the upcoming 2019 General Elections. Madhya Pradesh is mainly a bipolar contest between INC and BJP, but in recent times a few regional parties have come up with major vote banks in the state. MP has 90.89% Hindu population and majority of the voters voted for BJP because of its Hindu identity. The state which has more than half of the population engaged in agriculture is still heckled by agrarian issues, crime against women, unemployment, corruption etc. These issues have a major implication on people’s minds and may cause them to vote for a change of government. Making this assembly election very important for both BJP and Congress. BJP has been ruling the state since 2003, winning the last three elections. The Congress on the other hand has been in exile for 15 years and desperately wants to make a comeback. Wining this election wil...