While the medium and big farmers have reaped the maximum bounty from the agricultural upturn of the last few years, the small farmer is not entirely untouched. "Last year, my brothers and I sold a small chunk of our land near the highway to an industry for Rs 75 lakh," says Tarlok Singh of Pilkhni village in Patiala. For all the swanky cars and new houses, there’s also a common refrain of declining soil fertility and falling groundwater levels.
Though most farmers are prepared to give the credit for more money in their pockets to the upa, this may not necessarily translate into votes. As farmer Baljit Singh points out, "When it comes to voting, several local factors come into play." Others say the desire for change among the electorate is so strong nowadays that "farmers now are prepared to chuck even the government that brought them relief in the hope that the next one will give them more."
Chander Suta Dogra in Patiala, Gurdaspur, Ambala
