T-state ‘turmeric’ farmers embarrass Modi in Varanasi

Turmeric farmers, who made the election commission officials as well the ruling TRS candidate K Kavitha, daughter of chief minister K Chandrasekhara Rao, by entering the electoral fray in Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency in the first phase are set to do the same with none other than the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is contesting from Varanasi.

In Nizamabad LS polls which held in the first phase on April 11, a record 180 turmeric farmers contested.  The Election Commission was forced to use 12 EVMs to accommodate all contesters names.

As many as 50 turmeric farmers from Nizamabad are set to travel to Varanasi and file their nomination papers to draw the attention of the nation over their protest over government’s failure to provide remunerative prices to their produce.

Majority of those who decided to travel to Varanasi are from Nizamabad rural, Armoor and Balkonda assembly constituencies.

The last date for filing nomination papers for Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency in Apri 29.

The Teangana Turmeric Farmers’ Association (TTFA) representatives blamed the BJP and Congress governments at the Centre for their pathetic plight.  They said it was only a novel protest that they chose to opt against K Kavitha, who as their representative failed to highlight in the last Lok Sabha and do justice.

However, they acknowledge that Kavitha though instrumental in setting up of Turmeric Board in Nizamabad district where the crop is widely grown, yet she could not pressurize the NDA government at the Centre to consider their demand.

If one has to believe news reports, even turmeric farmers from Erode in neighboring Tamil Nadu are willing to take a cue from the T-farmers and they too decided to join the electoral fray in Varanasi.

News reports also suggest that it was Kavitha, who is encouraging the farmers to contest from Varanasi to embarrass the Prime Minister.  It is no secret that her father and chief minister of Telangana, K Chandrasekhara Rao, is working hard to install a non-BJP and non-Congress governments at the Centre after May 23 results.  He is claiming that neither the BJP nor Congress will get requisite number of seats to claim to form the government.  The Mahaghatbandhan of SP and BSP in Gujarat as well Trinamul Congress in West Bengal too feel that regional parties are going to rule the roost after May 23 poll results.