POLITICS OF ELECTRICITY SUPPLY TO AGRICULTURE 131


tions was intended to cover the political spectrum from proliberalization to antiliberalization, or “Left” to Right.”


Interests


Obviously, farmers have a strong interest in access to reliable energy at low cost. Interestingly, none of the farmers’ organizations discussed here origi- nally demanded free electricity. Once political parties had begun proposing this policy, however, some of the farmers’ organizations also started to argue for it. Major concerns expressed by the farmers’ organizations included the limited, irregular, and inconvenient (mostly night-time) hours of electricity supply and the problem of voltage fluctuations that damage pumps.


Resources and Political Strategies


The conceptual framework presented in Chapter 3 shows how resources can be used to create political capital and influence political outcomes. Farm- ers’ organizations use a variety of strategies to create political capital for their positions. One is organizing public protests such as demonstrations: this was the main strategy used in the 1980s (see Chapter 9), and it remains important. Various resources are required to organize public protest, includ- ing a network of members or followers (a form of social capital), charismatic leadership, and the political skills to mobilize farmers around a certain topic (a form of human capital). Not all farmers’ organizations have formally reg- istered members. One leader argued that the lack of formal membership is a strategy to avoid political repression. Apparently the number of farmers whom the organizations can easily mobilize for demonstrations has declined since the 1990s. This trend may be related to the fragmentation of the farm- ers’ movement (see Chapter 9).


Lobbying political decisionmakers is another important strategy. The re- sources needed include the ability to mobilize the farmers’ votes and personal connections with politicians (a form of social capital). Farmers’ organizations asso- ciated with a particular political party can use this channel for influencing politi- cal decisionmaking. Some of the farmers’ organizations produce newsletters or other print material to influence their membership and public opinion. Farmers’ interests are also represented through the members of Parlia- ment. Many members of the state legislative assemblies in Punjab and Andhra Pradesh have an agricultural background, as do some leading politicians: for example, the Chief Minister of Punjab from 1997 to 2002 and since 2007 is a large-scale farmer.


India’s political system provides few formal channels through which farm- ers’ organizations can voice their interests. In the two states examined here,


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