Nizamabad: Farmers united to highlight the issue of remunerative prices for turmeric and red jowar. Around 179 farmers are contesting for the Nizamabad Lok Sabha seat, and this has drawn the attention of the country. Nizamabad farmers are progressive in agriculture but are unable to get suitable prices for their produce.
In this context, farmers in Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency entered the fray by filling mass nominations. Interestingly, the TRS has fielded Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter K. Kavitha in Nizamabad. As result, the election pattern in Nizamabad has become a hot topic among political circles too.
The farmers contesting in the election have been conducting campaigns in groups in Nizamabad rural, Armoor, Balkonda, Korutla and Jagtial Assembly constituencies under the Nizamabad Lok Sabha segment. They have mobilised around `1 crore for the expenses in Nizamabad and Jagtial districts. Each farmer in fray has spent more than Rs 50,000 for filing nomination and other election expenses.
Farmers also contributed each Rs 500 for election expenses. Several villages in Nizamabad district are witnessing the election campaigns of the TRS, BJP, Congress and independent (farmers) candidates. There is no direct involvement of any political party in the farmers’ protest. It may be noted that progressive farmers in the district never paid attention to political leaders and are self sufficient in agriculture expenses.
BJP MP candidate Dharmpuri Arvind declared on Sunday that he would resign as MP, if he was unable to sanction a turmeric board for Nizamabad within a short period after elections. He was addressing an election campaign in Balkonda Assembly constituency.
Meanwhile, TRS MP candidate K. Kavitha refused to respond to the farmers’ rally in Nizamabad on April 9. Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao has already declared government’s stand on the issue during his Nizamabad visit, she said while interacting with the media on Sunday. State government has a clear plan of action on turmeric and red jowar farmers, she explained.
Nizamabad gets extra time to cast votes
Polling in Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency, where 185 candidates including over 170 farmers are in the fray, would be held from 8 am till 6 pm on April 11, election officials said on Sunday.
Polling time in other 16 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state would start at 7 am after one hour of mock polling.
In Nizambad, in view of large number of contestants, two hours would be set apart for the mock polling, pushing the actual commencement of polling to 8 am. To offset for the delayed start, the closing time had been extended to 6 pm, they said.
All the candidates have been allotted symbols and they are available online, Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar said.
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