Between falling crop prices & electoral landslide

In Maharashtra, plunging crop prices foretold a backlash against the Mahayuti, yet the ruling alliance came out on top, by rallying women and through timely crop-related interventions, explains SANJEEB MUKHERJEE

- SANJEEB MUKHERJEE

A day before polling for the Assembly elections in Maharashtra on November 20, soybean prices at Latur mandi was quoted at ₹4,200 per quintal, 14 per cent below the government-mandated minimum support price (MSP) of ₹4,892, according to data from agmarknet.gov.in.

Akola saw desi cotton fetching ₹7,396 per quintal, barely covering the MSP of ₹7,121 for medium-staple cotton. Onion at Lasalgaon wholesale mandi was being sold at ₹4,000 per quintal on November 19, a steep 26 per cent fall in under three weeks.

Falling prices of major agricultural commodities was hitting farmers hard in rural Maharashtra, leading many to predict a backlash against the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the Assembly polls. Similar agrarian discontent had played a key role in the alliance's losses during the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year.

Yet, the election results defied expectations.