The Hindu : Ire over power tariffs may upset poll arithmetic

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 16, 2004

National

National - Elections 2004

Ire over power tariffs may upset poll arithmetic

Farmers are up in arms against Chief Minister Narendra Modi over increased power tariffs. The snowballing protest could well affect the poll outcome, says Jyotirmaya Sharma.

Gujarat's farmers, who have been up in arms over the increased power tariffs since June 2003, are poised to decisively affect the electoral arithmetic in the State. Ironically, the most determined opposition to the BJP Government led by Narendra Modi comes from a Sangh Parivar outfit, the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS). The Congress has also joined the chorus of protests against the State Government, backing the Gujarat Kedut Sangharsh Samiti (GKSS), a farmers' alliance.

While the Modi Government has reached a temporary settlement with the BKS, the issue is far from settled. The farmers' protest has generated anxious moments for the State Government, which turned to the Union Law Minister, Arun Jaitley, to help broker an uneasy truce in February 2004. Mr. Jaitley's intervention became necessary when Laljibhai Patel, an RSS pracharak and co-founder of the BKS, went on a hunger strike in Ahmedabad in January protesting against the hike in electricity rates.

Kanubhai Patel, spokesperson of the BKS, dismisses the compromise reached with the State Government as eyewash. Apart from the power tariff, problems relating to supply, duration and quality of electricity have not been addressed. For him, the question is no longer one of power tariffs alone; it has to do with Mr. Modi's style of governance. Mr. Patel is incensed with Mr. Modi for his strong-arm tactics; he says farmers have been arrested, their electricity meters sealed and their motor pumps confiscated. He claims there have been attempts to divide the farmers as well.

The root of the problem is simple enough. Farmers in Gujarat pay for electricity according to the contracted load of their motors. Earlier, they were paying Rs.350 for all machines up to 7.5 horsepower, with an additional tariff of Rs.500 for additional capacity beyond 7.5 hp. The Modi Government increased the tariff to Rs.700 in both categories. Mr. Jaitley's compromise formula reduced it by Rs.300 in both categories, something the BKS accepted under duress. However, the situation has worsened once again with the publication of the recommendations of the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) in February 2004. The ERA has fixed Rs.1,050 for motors up to 7.5 hp and Rs.1,350 for motors with additional capacity. This increase is unpalatable to all farmers' organisations in the State.

For the BKS, the question of power tariffs is now a larger political issue. Mr. Patel says that while the BKS will not explicitly make this an election issue, it will remain the single most decisive issue in the elections. He blames Mr. Modi for his neglect of the farmers and arrogant attitude. "He is not interested in talking to the farmers. He is busy organising tamashas and doesn't have the time to sit with farmers," he says. Mr. Patel's indictment of Mr. Modi goes even further. He openly questions Mr. Modi's sheel or integrity and his shaili or style. "Narendrabhai's style of functioning is a major issue. He lies, deceives and does not keep his word. He does not know how to talk. His speech reeks of arrogance," says Mr. Patel. Even more serious is the BKS stand that the BJP ought not to take its support in the April elections for granted. Mr. Patel minces no words in saying that the BKS has very little to do with the BJP and that its primary allegiance is to the RSS. The BKS, then, will be voting next month for candidates who best represent the interests of farmers rather than go by party affiliations. This stance could be decisive in the outcome of the polls in north Gujarat and Saurashtra, where water is scarce, groundwater levels are low, and electricity consumption is higher.

The GKSS, on the other hand, has taken advantage of the BKS compromise to step up its protests. Its call for a Gujarat bandh on March 13 led to widespread violence, arson and arrest of its members. The GKSS general secretary, Dharmapal Chaudhry, dismisses the BKS protest as a Sangh-sponsored conspiracy to hoodwink the farmers. A Shankarsinh Waghela protégé, Mr. Chaudhry also speaks of the terror unleashed by Mr. Modi and says this would be a central issue for farmers in the polls. He is confident that farmers in north Gujarat and Saurashtra will vote decisively against the BJP and in favour of the Congress. "The farmers want representation as in the past. The BKS is only a smokescreen erected by the BJP to take decisions regarding the interests of the farmers behind closed doors without consulting the real representatives of the farmers," says Mr. Chaudhry.

Bhalubhai Desai, a former member (finance) of the Gujarat Electricity Board, dismisses the protest as yet another instance of the politics of subsidy. The Gujarat Government spends Rs. 1,700 crores every year as subsidy to farmers. This puts an enormous burden on the generation and distribution of power. He argues that the question of power tariffs affects only affluent farmers and not small farmers. But electoral politics and populism will not allow serious power reforms to be introduced in the State, he says.