Onions, Soy And Cotton Made NDA Cry In Maharashtra Lok Sabha Elections: Eknath Shinde

Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde said he will meet with the new Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to discuss fixing support prices for onions, soybeans, and cotton. Shinde acknowledged that the ruling Mahayuti alliance suffered a great deal in the Lok Sabha elections due to farm distress. Shinde said he has discussed farm-related matters with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a speech at this Commission for Agriculture Costs and Price meeting.

"Onions caused problems for us in the Nashik area (a major production centre of the key kitchen staple in north Maharashtra)." We cried over onions in Nashik, soy and cotton in Marathwada and Vidarbha (according to polls)," he remarked. Farmers, particularly those in the Nashik belt, protested after the Centre banned onion exports in December of last year in an effort to control retail prices. Eventually, in early May, the ban was lifted.

Both the BJP and the Shiv Sena lost their Lok Sabha seats in Nashik and Dindori, respectively. In Marathwada and Vidarbha, the ruling Mahayuti alliance managed to secure only one and two seats, respectively.

With only 17 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra won by the Mahayuti, which is made up of the Shiv Sena, the BJP, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (RSP), the party suffered a crushing defeat in the elections.

Shinde noted that after taking office on Monday, Prime Minister Modi signed his first file authorising the release of the 17th installment of 'PM Kisan Nidhi' funds totaling nearly Rs 20,000 crore, which will benefit approximately 9.3 crore farmers. According to the CM, the state government has also taken several steps to benefit farmers.