“What is the point of Narendra Singh Tomar being such a big leader when small farmers like me are struggling for fertiliser and electricity?” requested an agitated Sharma, as he headed again house with the torn bag of fertiliser in his hand.
“I ended up paying the full amount, but we can’t even complain to those running the cooperative society as they simply ask us to go to Morena if we have any issue with the way they deal with things,” he added.
Dilip Singh Tomar, one other farmer, informed ThePrint that he was pressured to promote bajra (millets) at Rs 1,900 per quintal, nicely beneath the declared minimal help value (MSP) of Rs 2,500. “The government has not begun procurement of bajra on MSP and we are forced to sell to private dealers,” he mentioned.
Because the solar began to set, Dilip Singh headed house and was joined by Kalyan Singh Tomar, each residents of Chandpur village in Dimani.
Kalyan Singh, a visitor instructor, lashed out on the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP authorities. He informed ThePrint that he, and lots of different lecturers like him, had been struggling to get everlasting appointment within the state.
“The BJP government says one thing and does the other. We have been struggling to get permanent appointment for many years and, despite doing everything right and fulfilling all criteria, we are still running from one office to the other for the same,” he alleged.
Although there may be palpable resentment in opposition to Narendra Singh Tomar and the BJP, Gulab Singh Parihar, 71, a member of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, sat on the tea store on the primary village sq., explaining to folks how the BJP authorities needed to herald three farm legal guidelines for the good thing about farmers however “the ‘Khalistani’ mentality of a few derailed the project”.
Additionally Learn: Repeal of farm legal guidelines reveals how vital public consensus is in a democracy
‘Upper hand’ for Narendra Singh Tomar?
Dimani constituency has about 2.5 lakh voters and is dominated by the Thakur group, adopted by the Kushwahas and the Brahmins. Members of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) communities account for round 50,000 votes, whereas the Gurjars and Yadavs represent about 8,000 votes every, in response to Election Fee information.
The BJP has pitted Narendra Singh Tomar in opposition to sitting Congress MLA Ravindra Singh Tomar, Balveer Dandotiya of the Bahujan Samaj Social gathering (BSP) and Surendra Singh Tomar of the Aam Aadmi Social gathering (AAP).
Kirathram Nishad, a small-scale farmer, is sad with each the Union minister and Ravindra Singh Tomar of the Congress.
“There has been no development in the region, whether Narendra Singh Tomar is the agriculture minister or Ravindra Singh Tomar is the sitting Congress MLA. Tomar sahab ko khud sochna chahiye, woh itne bade neta hone ke baad, ab yahan aaye hai vidhyaki kaa chunav ladne ke liye. Ye toh wohi baat ho gai ke pehle ghode pe baithte the, aur ab gadhe par baithe hain,” Nishad informed ThePrint.
(Narendra Singh Tomar ought to mirror; he’s such an enormous chief however he’s now all the way down to contesting meeting polls. It’s like, he was first using a horse and is now using a donkey)
Although villagers in Dimani see it as a markdown, a district chief of the BJP mentioned choosing the agriculture minister because the candidate from Dimani was the perfect determination the occasion might have made.
“Fielding a tall leader like Narendra Singh Tomar means the BJP will definitely win Dimani seat,” mentioned the chief, who can be named Ravindra Singh Tomar.
“Otherwise, the local equations in Dimani were such that Girraj Dandotiya and another candidate, Shiv Mangal, were both fighting for tickets. If either would have been chosen, the other would have worked against him and the BJP would have lost,” the chief added.
Subhas Chandra, a farmers’ chief from Dimani too echoed the sentiment that Narendra Singh Tomar would win the seat, regardless of indicators of farm misery, scarcity of fertilisers and points regarding crop procurement.
“There have been several farm-related issues here, with the problem of fertilisers being the most prominent, but unfortunately, people do not vote on these issues. Voting patterns are mostly driven by caste equations, and in that regard, with the seat being dominated by Thakurs, Narendra Singh Tomar is likely to have an upper hand,” mentioned Chandra.
Caste equations in Dimani got here to the forefront after violence erupted within the district on the night time of three November.
A dispute over loud music being performed on a tractor resulted in a single Aidal Singh Gurjar being shot lifeless allegedly by some males from the Tomar group. The Gurjar group demanded motion, with the administration bulldozing the house of the accused the following day.
‘People expect leaders to show up at doorstep’
Whereas some in Dimani consider that caste equations might tilt the election in Narendra Singh Tomar’s favour, others are but to make up their thoughts and are ready for the Union minister to point out up at their door canvassing for votes.
“No matter who wins the election, our situation hardly changes. But we haven’t made up our mind yet and will wait and see who comes seeking our votes and will then decide accordingly,” Ramroop Verma, a neighborhood farmer, informed ThePrint.
Narendra Singh Tomar has been holding conferences in numerous villages however is but to start a door-to-door marketing campaign within the constituency.
Nevertheless, a Tomar loyalist who didn’t wish to be named mentioned public conferences alone won’t lower it this time. “The time has gone when people had the craze to watch leaders and would show up at their meetings. Now people expect them to show up at their doorstep,” he mentioned.
In keeping with native BJP leaders in Dimani, sensing that the competition right here wouldn’t be simple, not solely Narendra Singh Tomar however his sons and spouse have additionally got down to marketing campaign within the constituency, concentrating on girls voters in addition to children to drum up help.
BSP issue & help for Congress
Although the Tomar group votes are prone to be divided between Narendra Singh Tomar and MLA Ravindra Singh Tomar, BSP’s Balveer Dandotiya has additional difficult issues for each the Congress and the BJP.
Balveer was MLA from Dimani from 2013 to 2018 and, in response to native villagers, helped and supported many members of the SC group. However he misplaced the election in 2018 to Girraj Dandotiya, who was then a Congress candidate.
Girraj, a loyalist of BJP chief Jyotiraditya Scindia, switched to the BJP from the Congress in 2020. However he misplaced the bypoll from Dimani that 12 months on a BJP ticket, and the seat as soon as once more went to the Congress who had then fielded Ravindra Singh Tomar.
Not keen to repose belief in Girraj once more, the BJP has now fielded Narendra Singh Tomar from Dimani.
Ram Chitra Mohar, a resident of SC-dominated Khuri village in Dimani, informed ThePrint that regardless of shedding the elections in 2018, Balveer didn’t cease visiting the villages. “We have one water pump in the village and it is because of him,” he mentioned.
However whereas Mohar appreciated the work achieved by Balveer, villagers had been aware that the BSP’s electoral prospects in Madhya Pradesh are restricted.
Most residents of Khuri village mentioned they needed employment for his or her kids.
“We want good education and employment for our children. We do not want them to spend their lives the way we did, working as labourers for others. We want to vote for a candidate that can form the government. So, our votes will go to the Congress,” mentioned Mohar, pointing to younger males returning after a day of back-breaking work on the farm.
Bunty, a 19-year-old who had studied until Class 5 and drives a car to make ends meet, was fast to chime in: “This time, the votes of this village will go to the Congress.”
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Additionally Learn: What Congress and BJP posters in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh say and conceal