UP polling shifts from sugar bowl to potato belt

Lucknow

With two phases of the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Assembly polls now over, the focus has shifted from the sugarcane belt of the Western UP region to the potato-growing belt of the state.

The third phase of UP polling scheduled on February 20 will span 59 assembly seats across 16 districts in the Central, Western and Bundelkhand regions.

Nearly 60 per cent, or 36, of these 59 assembly constituencies are potato-rich areas, accounting for nearly 30 per cent of the country’s total annual potato output.

As such, the mixed issues of potato prices, warehousing facilities and minimum support price (MSP) for the staple horticultural crop comprise a major political plank in the 2022 UP assembly elections.

Interestingly, the top political parties, viz. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress, have incorporated potato themes in their respective election manifestos to woo the growers in this region.

While the ruling BJP has promised to include potato and tomato in the MSP basket, the SP has promised to set up a potato export cluster in Kannauj. The Congress has promised to set up a cold storage in every block while promoting the food processing value chain if voted to power.

The increasing prices of the agricultural inputs, especially diesel, market price fluctuations and the erratic availability of urea and other soil nutrients are some of the primary concerns of the potato cultivators in the state.

During glut season, the state potato farmers are known to dump their produce in the open to at least save on the warehousing costs, which far outstrips the market value of their crop.

The potato acreage in UP is estimated at about 0.6 million hectares, while the productivity tops 14.7 million tonnes.

The 16 districts to witness polling in the third phase include Hathras, Firozabad, Aliganj, Etah, Mainpuri, Farrukhabad, Kannauj, Etawah, Auraiya, Kanpur, Kanpur Dehat, Kasganj, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Hamirpur and Mahoba.

Traditionally SP has wielded considerable influence in these pockets since it comprises the pocket borough of party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and his clan, especially Etawah, Kannauj, Mainpuri, Etah, Firozabad, Auraiya etc.

Interestingly, SP president Akhilesh Yadav is contesting the UP polls from the Karhal segment in the Mainpuri district.

There are more than 150 million registered voters in UP, which has the country’s highest assembly constituencies numbering 403.

UP assembly elections are scheduled in seven rounds in Feb and March 2022, viz. Feb 10, 14, 20, 23, 27 and March 3 and 7. The counting of votes will be done on March 10.