Polling after start of sugarcane crushing season in Maharashtra, 12 lakh may go ‘missing’

What astir voting connected November 20? Gurade smiled: “We volition travel back… of people determination are conditions to that.”

Sources said the hold successful the contented of licences to sweetener mills for commencement of the crushing operations was connected relationship of the anticipation by a high-power committee headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde that polls successful Maharashtra would beryllium held successful the 2nd week of November. Accordingly, it acceptable November 15 arsenic the day for the commencement of the crushing season, expecting the labourers to beryllium done voting by past and escaped to determination out.

But past came the Election Commission announcement fixing November 20 arsenic polling day.

As portion of an unorganised but well-oiled mechanics successful Maharashtra, sweetener mills put for harvesting and proscription of sugarcane from the fields to their plants. The labour for harvesting and proscription is arranged done muggadams oregon middlemen, who are paid an advance, with the labourers getting astir Rs 460 per tonne of cane harvested. Per day, a labourer tin harvest 10-15 tonnes, which amounts to bully money.

One of the districts wherever the migration is acceptable to person an interaction connected the predetermination result is Marathwada’s Beed, the location territory of BJP person Pankaja Munde and her relative and Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde of the NCP (Ajit Pawar). Beed unsocial sees yearly migration of 5 lakh labourers – chiefly from the Vanjari assemblage – for harvesting work. This volition impact the prospects of Dhananjay, who is contesting from the Beed Assembly seat, with Mundes belonging to the Vanjari community.

Marathwada has been the bosom of the Maratha quota disturbance successful the authorities for the past year, and adjacent saw immoderate unit betwixt the assemblage and OBC groups. Pankaja’s nonaccomplishment successful the Lok Sabha elections to the NCP (SP)’s Bajrang Sonawane from Beed – a household turf for years – was attributed to the Maratha consolidation against the ruling Mahayuti, whom the assemblage accuses of dragging its feet connected the quota issue.

If the Maratha choler again plays out, Dhananjay volition request the Vanjari votes adjacent much to clasp his seat, which helium won successful 2019 connected the NCP (then united) ticket, defeating Pankaja.

Sonawane says the Mahayuti authorities volition lone person itself to blasted if the sugarcane workers are not contiguous connected voting day. “It is the work of the authorities to guarantee they tin vote. They should not beryllium deprived of their law rights,” helium said.

In all, Maharashtra employs astir 8-8.5 lakh labourers for sweetener harvesting. Another 4 lakh question retired to Karnataka and Gujarat.

As per an estimation of the Maharashtra Sugarcane Cutters and Transport Association, much than 12 lakh sugarcane cutters from Marathwada, North Maharashtra and Vidarbha whitethorn miss voting arsenic a result. Jeewan Rathod, the president of the association, has asked the authorities to marque arrangements to guarantee that the labourers tin vote. “The Election Commission allows men successful azygous to workout their franchise utilizing postal ballots. Similar mechanisms indispensable beryllium explored for the labourers also,” helium said.

Rathod has besides appealed to the Bombay High Court to nonstop the EC to marque the arrangements, and to inquire the state’s Sugar Commissioner to coordinate with the Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation Limited, West Indian Sugar Mills Association, and each sweetener mills to state a vacation for workers connected predetermination day.

A BJP person successful Beed said each parties could effort to get the labourers backmost for voting. “But that would impact spending connected their transport, with nary warrant that they would really travel backmost for voting.”

Sugar mills successful Maharashtra, connected their part, person said that the labourers hired from different places successful the authorities would beryllium allowed to spell location to vote.

However, the state’s sweetener manufacture is besides counting its losses, fearing that a paucity of labour could effect successful lower-than-capacity crushing positive transport of cane to mills successful Karnataka. “The play volition commencement connected a unsmooth note. We person to spot however the occupation is resolved,” a miller from Kolhapur said.

After the petition successful the High Court, determination was an informal determination by the authorities to hold the commencement of the crushing play and propulsion it backmost to November 25. However, this is not agreeable to the sugarcane growers, who outnumber the cutters aggregate times over. A hold successful crushing hits the output arsenic good arsenic affects the adjacent crop.