Turmeric Farmers to Contest as Independents in Varanasi

Farmers want their problems to be highlighted.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@ANINewsUP)

The 2019 general elections in the Varanasi constituency took a new turn as 50 farmers from Telangana decided to contest the elections as Independents against PM Narendra Modi. But they have claimed that they just want to highlight their problems by joining the elections, reported NDTV.

"We are not opposing anyone. We just want to highlight our problems and demand creation of a turmeric board and Minimum Support Price of Rs 15,000 per quintal (MSP) for turmeric," said a spokesperson to ANI.

Turmeric does not have a minimum support price, which has affected many farmers across the country for the past few years. The farmers claim that neither the Congress-led UPA nor the current government under the BJP did anything to alleviate their problems.

"This was not solved during UPA's tenure too. Prime Minister Narendra Modi did the same. We are not against him or campaigning against anyone,” the spokesperson added, reports NDTV.

The turmeric prices for this year have fallen to Rs 3,200 per quintal from Rs 5,200 per quintal.

Varanasi has been PM Modi's stronghold, which was displayed when several top allies accompanied him to Varanasi for filing his nomination on 26 April.

The voting will take place on 19 May in Varanasi. PM Modi will be up against Congress' Ajay Rai, reported NDTV.

(With inputs from NDTV and ANI)