Farmer anger will test Modi as India’s ‘grain bowl’ votes

By SHEIKH SAALIQ
Associated Press

FATEHGARH SAHIB, India (AP) — India’s Punjab state is voting in elections seen as a barometer of Prime Minister Narendra Modi party’s Hindu nationalist reach ahead of general elections in 2024. The Bharatiya Janata Party is hoping to neutralize the resentment of Sikh farmers who camped out at the outskirts of New Delhi for a year before Modi agreed to repeal controversial farm laws. Farmers feared the laws would decimate their income. They are the most influential voting bloc in India, and their protests are expected to resonate in other four states also holding elections. The political landscape is changing and new parties are trying to translate farmers’ anger into votes and prevent the BJP from making inroads in the grain bowl of India.