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Dindori, Nashik, Beed, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar and Dhule Lok Sabha seats form the state’s onion belt, which accounts for about 34% of the country’s onion production. More than 40% of the state’s onion is cultivated in Nashik alone.
The NDA suffered a setback in the onion belt of Maharashtra in the recent Lok Sabha elections. The party won only one of the six seats. This may also have an impact on the assembly elections as traders, mainly due to the ban on export of the crop, and farmers expressed disappointment over the ban not being lifted by the Union Budget. Admitting that the long-term ban on free export of onions is hurting the party’s prospects, a BJP leader in Nashik expressed disappointment, saying our leaders were not able to convince the party’s central leadership about its political impact.
Dindori, Nashik, Beed, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar and Dhule Lok Sabha seats form the state’s onion belt, which accounts for about 34% of the country’s onion production. More than 40% of the state’s onion is cultivated in Nashik alone. Except Aurangabad, where Sandipan Bhumare of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena won, the NDA lost all the other seats. In Ahmednagar and Beed, relatively newcomers like Nilesh Lanke and Bajrang Sonawane of the NCP (SP) defeated BJP veterans like Sujay Vikhe-Patil and Pankaja Munde, respectively.
A Shiv Sena leader (Eknath Shinde) from Balgan taluka of Nashik district said the opposition was constantly raising the issue of onion prices. He said we had asked our leaders to raise the export issue with the Centre. Assembly elections are near and the issue has not been addressed in the budget, which may backfire on us. Due to the export ban, onion prices remained low for most of the time last year. A farmer from Dindori Lok Sabha seat said I thought the government would lift the ban in the budget, but it seems the Centre has not learnt a lesson from it. This issue will remain in the assembly elections. Most of us are hurt by the government’s move.
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