"Let a standard four student and Sonia sing `Vande Mataram' together without a sheet of paper for reference. A kid from Khambhat will win this contest. All our freedom fighters - Rajguru, Sukhdev, Bhagat Singh and Mahatma Gandhi - have died for Vande Mataram. But she does not know the national song."
- Chief Minister Narendra Modi, at an election rally in Khambat, Anand.
BHIKABHAI PATEL, a farmer from Gandhinagar, does not care whether Sonia Gandhi can sing Vande Mataram. He is drowning in losses. Agriculture has become unprofitable and his debts are piling up. "Our expenses are much higher than the price we get in the market for our produce," he said. "We spend Rs.550 to grow 20 kg of wheat. But the market rate is only Rs.125 for 20 kg. Farmers are already incurring heavy losses. By almost doubling electricity prices, the government has added to our burdens."
Bhikabhai is a member of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), the farmer's wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party. But, he is upset with the Modi government. "Why should we pay more when they don't deliver on their promise of 14 hours uninterrupted power supply? We get electricity for only six hours a day. Sometimes, at odd hours of the night," Bhikabhai pointed out. In the water scarce areas of Gujarat, farmers who pump groundwater dependent heavily on electricity. Groundwater meets the needs of around 85 per cent of Gujarat's irrigated land, as compared to the all-India average of 60 per cent.
Some months back, Bhikabhai participated in the BKS agitation against the BJP government's power policy. The first signs of opposition were from within the party itself. Later, BJP leaders from Delhi forced a compromise. But farmers are still upset.
But there is not much talk of their problems during this election campaign. The Congress(I), the only Opposition party, mentions it in passing. Narendra Modi, who has a penchant for passing cheap shots, keeps taking digs at Sonia Gandhi, calling her a `jersey cow' and Rahul Gandhi a `hybrid calf'.
NATHUBHAI PADIAR cannot eat the grain that he grows in his field. He buys his provisions from the market, even though they are more expensive. "Our grain tastes bad," he says.
His village Umraya, on the outskirts of Vadodara, lies in Gujarat's `golden corridor', an industrial belt stretching from Mehsana in the north to Vapi in the south. This corridor is the heart of the State's industry and of indiscriminate pollution.
Around 95 per cent of industrial units did not have consent to operate under the Air Act, said the Comptroller and Auditor General's report 2001. And, 92 per cent of industrial units in the hazardous waste-producing sector were functioning without the Pollution Control Board's authorisation.
Industries here get sufficient water. But not farmers. Villages are dry. Nathubhai's farm is adjacent to the effluent canal of a large chemical company. He uses the dark, maroon effluent from the factory to irrigate his field. "There's no other source of water here. So we use the effluent instead," Nathubhai explains. "Large farmers have borewells. But they charge us Rs.40 an hour. That's at least Rs. 400 a week. It's too expensive. This water is free."
Soil irrigated with effluent water have 100-250 times more heavy metals such as lead, zinc, copper, chromium and nickel, according to chemical analysis research done by environmental scientist Dr. Avnesh Sharma. An analysis of crops showed that food grown with effluent water has high heavy metal contamination.
Pollution has poisoned farms. The air smells of toxic gases. The water is laced with a deadly cocktail of chemicals. Ever since the factory became operational, farmers have had to cope with rising medical bills. Gases released every night keep children awake, gasping for breath and vomiting. Several people have stomach and skin problems.
Farming is no longer viable. "My kharif rice crop was destroyed. I spent Rs.5,000 on seeds and fertilizers. It has all gone down the drain. We are food producers, but we don't even get two meals a day," says Nathubhai. Farmers estimate that productivity has fallen by more than one-third. Some do not get market rates for their produce. "If the traders know that the crop is from this area, they offer us only 50 or 60 per cent of the normal market price," he adds. With losses mounting, many farmers are deeply in debt. Nathubhai had to sell two of his three buffaloes. This has further reduced his income.
The factory has not opened up new jobs for the people of the village. "Even those who lost their land to the factory and were promised jobs did not get them. There is no work for us in there," says Nathubhai. "Most workers are on contract. They get Rs.60 for 12 hours, which is much less than the minimum wage. And, the contractor can throw you out whenever he feels like."
But the BJP's `feel good' campaign has overlooked the downside of Gujarat's industrial development. When Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani visited his constituency, Gandhinagar, he talked about stability and `India Shining'. Of the 26 seats in Gujarat, the BJP is confident of retaining the 21 seats it won last time.
Walk through the lanes of Gomtipur, Ahmedabad's mill area and many unemployed men are just hanging around the streets. Most mills have shut down. Mehru Vaghela used to work in Ramkrishna mills, earning Rs.75 daily. The mill closed in 1986. For many years he was without work. Now, he labours in a spinning factory where daily wages are Rs. 50. "See how we have fallen. I don't have money to shave. In every house here, people are sitting redundant. Their wives have become rag pickers. They scrape together only one meal," he says.
Some have seen through the BJP's eyewash. "Because of the riots, we voted for the BJP. But we won't make the same mistake again," says Mehru. "They fooled us. They started the riots. But they made us believe that they would save us. This time we won't vote for them." But many youth have fallen for the communal game plan. "The BJP protected Hindus. The Congress supported Muslims," says Kanu Macwana, a local BJP supporter.
Although Narendra Modi won the 2002 Assembly elections with communal politics, this time he has been told not to use his communal rhetoric.
The BJP central command is keen to focus on the `feel good' factor. Both parties are being careful about what they say about the Supreme Court's criticism of Modi's government in the Best Bakery verdict.
Modi returned to his `Gujarati Asmita (pride)' rhetoric. "We Gujarati's were compared with killers, looters, rapists and killers of Muslims," he said at an election rally in Khambat. "Madam (Sonia) is here. She should come here in Khambhat. She too referred to Gujarat as land of Godse instead of Gandhi. People of Gujarat will teach her a lesson." Soon after the Best Bakery verdict, Modi planned a `Kesari Yatra' of north and central Gujarat where the BJP could face some setbacks.
The Congress was far more careful while talking about the Best Bakery judgment. At a rally in north Gujarat, Sonia Gandhi made a passing reference to how the Supreme Court had criticised the Modi government for its role in the riots. But Gujarat Congress leader Shankarsinh Vaghela lashed out at the Modi government. The Congress fears that raking up such issues could polarise votes along communal lines, which will only benefit the BJP and deflect attention from voters' concerns.
Although there is no dearth of development problems, people's discontent may not translate into votes simply because the Congress is still very weak. The Sangh Parivar's network is a far more organised and visible force. The Congress presence, if any, offers no reassurance to people. "People are not happy with the BJP. But the Congress didn't do anything for us in the last 50 years," says a teacher in a tribal area of Bharuch district in south Gujarat.
It does not matter whether Sonia can sing or Modi can dance, as long as they deliver the goods. But that is something political parties are silent about during the campaign tamasha.
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