Farm associations plan to fight from four Lok Sabha constituencies in the State, as they feel that the major parties are not highlighting their problems.
Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) leaders plan to field candidates from Belagavi, Chikkodi, Dharwad and Uttara Kannada (Canara) seats.
They feel that the only way to have their voice heard is by having representatives of their own in Parliament.
“We are tired of appealing to various national and State political parties to listen to our grievances. This has been happening for decades. As recently as in the last winter Assembly session in Belagavi, we had put two demands before leaders, that one day of the session period should be dedicated to discussing issues related to farming and that, all Ministers, MLAs and MLCs should stay in the houses of farmers and not in hotels,” the KRRS said.
“But our demands have not been considered. We have had such bitter experience with successive governments,” said farmers leaderfarmers leader Prakash Nayak.
“We have tried all other ways and now it seems that making farmers enter Parliament seems to be the only way out,” he said.
“KRRS candidates will have a manifesto that is distinct from other parties. We will fight against corruption and the rising monopolistic power of corporates. We will also focus our energies on protecting and preserving democracy. We will not base our campaign on caste or religious lines, as we believe that all farmers are one,” he said.
Mr. Nayak said that the victorious KRRS candidates will be asked to resign if their fight for the rights of farmers is not respected by governments. A decision will be announced before April 12, the day the period for filing nomination papers for North Karnataka constituencies begin.
It may be noted that Raitha Sangha leaders have been elected to the Assembly twice in the past. In 1989, Babagouda Patil won from Kittur and Dharwad Rural constituencies. But he retained Kittur and resigned from Dharwad. Also, D.M. Nanjundaswamy got elected from Dharwad Rural in 1990.
