“We are waiting for all the election manifestoes to come in to gauge the support politicians promise to farmers,” says ‘Cauvery’ Dhanapalan, General Secretary of a farmers’ welfare society in the Cauvery delta area.

That is his response to a question on which party the farmers favour — the ruling AIADMK, the DMK-Congress alliance, the DMDK-led People’s Welfare Front, the PMK or the BJP — in the upcoming Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.

In the absence of an anti-incumbency wave this time, farmers’ representatives in the region say they will weigh the benefits promised by the parties before they cast their votes.

The caste and community factor could also play a key role in a voter’s decision, as much as in other parts of Tamil Nadu.

Most political parties have fielded candidates based on caste and community basis in each constituency.

No major shift Political and caste considerations apart, farmers and farm workers have an important say in the delta districts of Thiruvarur, Thanjavur and Nagapattinam and surrounding areas, which are primarily agriculture-dependent.

For now, in these three districts, the AIADMK appears to be ahead. In the 2011 Assembly elections, the AIADMK bagged nine of the 18 seats, the DMK four, and the CPI, CPI(M), Congress and DMDK, one seat each. There is not likely to be any major shift, according to farmers’ representatives.

According to some of the association leaders, who did not want to be named, the People’s Welfare Front and the PMK, which have promised total waiver of farm loans, could gain some ground. The caste factor is also in their favour.

Dhanapalan says the major issue is the low price farmers get for their produce, particularly paddy. Prices have collapsed, with farmers getting just about ₹ 9 for a kg of paddy, which does not even cover their production cost. “Paddy is being treated on par with animal feed,” he says.

The support that the AIADMK or the DMK give to farmers will hold the key, he believes.

The DMK has said it will waive cooperative crop loans for small farmers. But they constitute just one-fifth of the farm sector. What happens to the others, he asks.

“We are all waiting for the AIADMK’s manifesto before making up our minds,” he says.

M Seran of Nagapattinam, who heads a farmers’ movement in his district, says farmers are looking for support to agriculture. Loan waiver will be a major factor in deciding their allegiance. That apart there does not appear to be any clear pattern emerging in the delta districts in terms of support or shift.

Long-term development ‘Dikshitar’ Balasubramanian, Tiruchi District Head of the Cauvery Delta Irrigated Farmers Produce Protection Society, which does not owe allegiance to political parties, says it is important that politicians look at long-term development of the delta area. Improving infrastructure and enhancing quality of farm produce are some of the key expectations.

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