Farmers are running short of hands during the crucial rabi sowing season, with thousands of daily wagers opting to work in election campaigns instead. Politicians are paying the agricultural labourers ₹1,000 per day for being part of an election rally, apart from a meal and snacks. The job entails being a part of the rally from start to finish, while waving the party flag and raising party slogans.
How it works
Women labourers are in higher demand, and command up to ₹1,200 per day.
There is usually a person acting as a mediator, who arranges for a large number of people to take part in the rally. The mediator gathers the participants, arranges for their transportation and food, and pays them at the end of the day. In turn, the mediator is paid for his services by the politician. However, the mediator makes money hand over first. He usually collects a small commission from the labourers too.
Farmers worried
Farmers are worried that the crop which is ready for harvesting would be lost if there are sudden gales or showers. The paddy would get discoloured, resulting in the price going down. Paddy sown early in some thousands of acres is ready for harvesting in villages. “I raised paddy in two acres. I invested about ₹20,000 per acre, including the seed, pesticides, watering and labour charges. Now due to elections, labourers are not available for harvesting the crop,” said a farmer S. Ramu of Kalla village in West Godavari district. “The labour charge was ₹500 per day for men and ₹400 for women. But due to elections, they are not available as all of them are going for campaigning in towns. Every year, labourers from Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and other districts used to come to East and West Godavari and Krishna districts in groups for agricultural work. But this year, there is severe shortage of labour,” said another farmer P. Sriramulu.
The farmers say that they cannot afford to pay ₹1,000 per day as labour charges, as their spending would rise drastically.
