111 TN farmers to contest against PM Modi in Varanasi

March 23, 2019 16:13

After taking their protests to the national capital to highlight their demands, Tamil Nadu farmers are gearing up for an electoral battle and will file 111 nominations from the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is contesting.

Tamil Nadu farmers leader P Ayyakannu said on Saturday that 111 farmers from the State will contest against Modi from Varanasi.

Ayyakannu, who is also president of the National South Indian Rivers Inter-Linking Farmers Association, said the decision to contest the polls from Uttar Pradesh was to urge the BJP to include in their manifesto that their demands, including "profitable prices for farm produce," would be fulfilled.

The farmers leader, who spearheaded agitations in Delhi in 2017 for over 100 days, said the "moment they assure in their manifesto that our demands will be fulfilled, we will drop our decision to contest against Modi."

In the event of that not happening, he said they would go ahead and contest against Modi.

The decision to contest polls has the support of farmers everywhere and the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee, Ayyakannu said.

Asked why they were raising the demand with BJP alone and not other parties like the Congress to include it in their manifestos, he said the BJP was still the ruling party and Modi the prime minister.

-- PTI

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