MANN UNDER FIRE

AS FARMERS’ PATIENCE WEARS THIN AND AAP’S CENTRAL LEADERSHIP TIGHTENS ITS GRIP ON PUNJAB’S GOVERNANCE, CHIEF MINISTER BHAGWANT MANN FACES A CRITICAL TEST

- Anilesh S. Mahajan

On Diwali eve, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab organised a protest in front of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit headquarters in capital Chandigarh. The plan was to divert the farmers' ire towards the BJP-led central government, blaming it for the tardy paddy procurement in the state. The crisis affects nearly a million farmers, with 11.9 million tonnes of paddy languishing at farm gates or in mandis. The situation, described by experts as the worst procurement crisis in three decades and being attributed to "bureaucratic incompetence", threatens to disrupt the upcoming rabi wheat sowing season as well.

Add to this internal power struggles within the Punjab AAP, and a perfect storm is brewing for Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's administration, testing both his leadership and the party's governance model in the border state. Political observers believe that the bypolls to four assembly seats-Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal and Barnala on November 20 will be the first barometer to gauge the farmers' anger. All these are rural seats dominated by Jat Sikhs, the largest agriculturalist community in the state.

The procurement structure in Punjab is intricate, with state government agencies like Pungrain and Markfed managing front-end operations before transferring milled rice to central agencies. Unlike Mann's predecessors, who took personal responsibility for smooth procurement, the current administration faces unprecedented challenges. Multiple factors have contributed to this predicament: September's heavy rains delayed the harvest, high moisture content in crops complicated storage, and rice millers expressed serious concerns over the post-milling yield of PR-126 and other hybrid varieties, fearing substantial losses.