Potato farmers’ suicides emerge as key poll issue in Bengal

The issue of suicides among potato farmers is fast emerging as a major concern ahead of the upcoming elections in West Bengal.

Addressing a public rally at Ras Mela Ground in Cooch Behar on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged the distress faced by potato cultivators, signalling that the agrarian crisis could become a significant electoral issue.

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Sources said the state leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party had briefed the Prime Minister on the matter during his visit to Cooch Behar.

A day earlier, state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, who was in Cooch Behar to oversee arrangements for the Prime Minister’s programme, referred to three recent suicides by potato farmers while addressing a press conference.

He told media persons that two farmers in Alipurduar and one in Mathabhanga died by suicide on Friday, and alleged that similar incidents have been reported from several districts in South Bengal.

Targeting the ruling Trinamul Congress, Bhattacharya claimed that while starvation deaths during the British era were attributed to malnutrition, under the present regime suicides of distressed individuals are often linked to depression or personal relationships.

“On an empty stomach, how love arises is beyond understanding,” he remarked, alleging attempts to downplay farmer suicides, including in Hooghly.

He further asserted that the upcoming elections would be fought on the plank of “prosperous versus distressed Bengal.”

Responding to queries on alleged potato farmers’ suicides, outgoing North Bengal Development Minister Udayan Guha, who is contesting from Dinhata as a candidate of the Trinamul Congress, said:

“I am not aware of any such incident. Even if any suicide has occurred, it could be due to personal or family reasons. There is no information with us to suggest that any farmer has taken the extreme step due to losses in potato cultivation.”

Meanwhile, a recent study has indicated that mounting debt is pushing potato farmers in the state towards suicide.

Professor Bishwanath Chakraborty of the Political Science Department at Rabindra Bharati University, who conducted surveys across multiple districts, claimed that suicides among indebted farmers have been reported in parts of Howrah, Hooghly, Bardhaman, Purba Medinipur, Bankura, and North and South 24-Parganas.

According to his findings, two key factors are driving the crisis — lack of government support for irrigation and corruption. Farmers, he said, are being forced to arrange irrigation independently at high costs.

Highlighting rising input costs, Chakraborty said urea, officially priced at Rs 320 per sack, is being sold at Rs 500–-Rs 550. A key fertiliser used in potato cultivation, priced at Rs 1,460, is reportedly being sold in the black market for Rs 1,800- Rs 2,000.

Farmers have also alleged inefficiency in departments such as irrigation and agricultural marketing.

Access to institutional credit has emerged as another major concern. With bank loans becoming less accessible, farmers are increasingly dependent on private moneylenders, often at steep interest rates — as high as Rs 10 per month on a loan of Rs 100.

Production costs have surged sharply, with the price of empty sacks rising from Rs 10 last year to Rs 30 this year.

Despite higher production, farmers are not getting remunerative prices. Chakraborty pointed to the lack of adequate cold storage infrastructure as a key reason, noting that while several facilities were built during the Left Front era, few have been added in recent years.