The paradox of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra was that while farm distress ruled the minds of voters, two prominent farm leaders — Raju Shetti and Ravikant Tupkar — failed to click with them. Both Shetti and Tupkar came a distant third in their Hatkanagale and Buldhana constituencies, respectively.

The failure of farm leaders in electoral politics is not new in Maharashtra. The late Sharad Joshi, the founder of the Shetkari Sanghatana — that had managed to give a voice to farmers in the state — had himself tasted defeat in the Hinganghat Assembly seat in 1995.

Vijay Jawandhiya, a former colleague of Joshi, said this shows the weakness of farm movements.

“Even if farm issues dominate the political narrative in an election, it is not enough to win. This is because other than being a farmer, the voter has other identities — of caste, community, religion, etc. Unfortunately, farm leaders have always failed to understand this, and have been defeated repeatedly,” Jawandhiya said.

Farm related issues had dominated the build-up to the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, which saw many senior leaders of the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the state bite the dust. Among those who lost their seats were former ministers Bharati Pawar, Subhash Bhamare and Raosaheb Danve (all BJP). Onion prices and a ban on onion exports saw the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidates winning in the ‘onion belt’, while lower realisation from soybean and cotton crops saw the Mahayuti suffer in Vidarbha and Marathwada regions as well. One of the main narratives built up by the MVA was the supposed anti-farm policy of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre, whose local iteration is the Mahayuti.

While farmer issues were important, Shetti and Tupkar — the state’s two most prominent farmer leaders — failed to resonate with voters. Shetti failed to win back the Hatkanagale seat from Dhairyashil Mane of the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) for the second consecutive time. Located in the Kolhapur district, Shetti had twice represented this seat before losing out to Mane in 2019. “I feel that during these elections, farmers got swayed by issues that were not directly linked to economics,” he said. Shetti, who has started touring the state after his defeat, said such emotions do not last long, and the voters would be back.

But his supporters are not that confident. Many feel a lack of political acumen has cost them this seat for the second time.

This was Tupkar’s first Lok Sabha election, from his home constituency, Buldhana. He came a distant third behind the Mahayuti and the MVA candidates. Tupkar, who shares a love-hate relationship with Shetti, said he had managed to take the lead in four of the six Assembly segments under his Lok Sabha seat, but lost out in two others. “Unfortunately, farmers do not think of themselves as farmers — they are divided along the lines of caste, creed and religion,” he said. Tupkar said he plans to create a vote bank of farmers to ensure that only farmers get elected to power in the future.

Jawandhiya, who had parted ways with Joshi over differences in policy matters, said that what farm movements lack is an understanding of political truths and vote banks. He said that back in 1990, their farm union had joined hands with the V P Singh-led Janata Dal and saw around five leaders like Saroj Kashikar (Pulgaon), Wamanrao Chatap (Chandrapur) get elected to the Assembly. “Our people got their farm votes, as well as votes of other communities and castes, to take them to victory,” he said. But, when Joshi decided to fight from Hinganghat Assembly on his own, he tasted defeat, just five years after the seat had elected one of his farm union compatriots, Vasant Bonde.

This lack of social and caste bridges, said Jawandhiya and other leaders, is one of the main reasons why farm leaders fail to make a mark in electoral politics. It holds true for Raju Shetti, whose first Lok Sabha victory in 2009 was thanks to the support of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance. Even in 2014, he was backed by the same NDA alliance. Shetti’s rise as a political leader has much to do with him taking on sugar mill owners, who were traditionally with the Congress and the NCP.

Contrary to Shetti and Tupkar’s talk of developing farmers as a vote bank, most political observers say political parties build bridges with many communities, who bolster their core vote bank during elections. Thus, in 2024, the MVA managed to get an upper hand in the state due to a cross-section of society voting for them.

“Farm issues were important, but it was one of the many that resonated with voters. Farm leaders had failed to build cross-layered narratives, and thus failed to click electorally,” said a professor of political science from Shivaji University, Kolhapur, who did not want to be named.