111 TN farmers to fight against Modi in Varanasi

Tamil Nadu farmers’ leader said the decision to contest the polls from Uttar Pradesh was to urge the BJP to include in their manifesto their demands, including ‘profitable prices’

Tiruchirappalli, March 23: After taking their protests to the national capital to highlight their demands, Tamil Nadu farmers are gearing up for an electoral battle and will file 111 nominations from the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency from where PM Narendra Modi is contesting.

Tamil Nadu farmers’ leader P. Ayyakannu said on Saturday that the decision to contest the polls from UP was to urge the BJP to include in their manifesto their demands, including “profitable prices for farm produce”.

Tiruchirappalli, March 23: After taking their protests to the national capital to highlight their demands, Tamil Nadu farmers are gearing up for an electoral battle and will file 111 nominations from the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is contesting.

Tamil Nadu farmers’ leader P. Ayyakannu said on Saturday that 111 farmers from the state will contest against Mr Modi from Varanasi.

Mr Ayyakannu, who is also president of the National South Indian Rivers Inter-Linking Farmers’ Association, said the decision to contest the polls from Uttar Pradesh was to urge the BJP to include in their manifesto that their demands, including “profitable prices for farm produce”, would be fulfilled.

Speaking to PTI, the farmers leader, who spearheaded agitations in Delhi in 2017 for over 100 days, said the “moment they assure in their manifesto that our demands will be fulfilled, we will drop our decision to contest against Mr Modi.”

In the event of that not happening, he said they would go ahead and contest against Mr Modi.

The decision to contest polls has the support of farmers everywhere and the All-India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee, Mr Ayyakannu said.

Asked why they were raising the demand with BJP alone and not other parties like the Congress to include it in their manifestos, he said the BJP was still the ruling party and Mr Modi the Prime Minister.

Parties like the DMK and the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam have assured full loan waiver, which is also one of the farmers’ demands, in their manifestos, he said.

“We are not against the BJP or our PM Modi. Before assuming power, Modiji promised fulfilling our demands and assured to double our income.