Why Maharashtra election is to blame for onion-less salad, runny gravy

“Kandyawar bola (talk about onions, in Marathi)”, shouted an onion farmer as PM Narendra Modi was addressing a rally at Nashik’s Pimpalgaon during the Lok Sabha election in May.
Six months on, it’s a different election in Maharashtra, but the issue in Nashik remains unchanged, as do the struggles of the state’s onion farmers. With onion prices skyrocketing to Rs 100/kg across India, the Centre faces pressure from consumers from across the country. However, it also has to address the persistent ‘kanda’ woes that have gripped farmers in Maharashtra, India’s onion heartland.
The retail price of onions last week shot to as high as Rs 100/kg in several major cities.
As onions became exorbitant, restaurants started replacing the bulbs with cucumbers and radish in their salads. While households were doing with runny mutton and paneer gravy.
What really fuelled the price rise are the tears of the onion farmers of Maharashtra, India’s largest onion producing state.
The price rise has also raised questions about the role of the upcoming Assembly election in Maharashtra, as the central government has shied away from putting a restriction on onion exports.
One of the measures the Centre takes to stabilise onion prices is to stop exports or impose some restrictions.
However, this time it has refrained from doing so. Lat time it did so, things did not end up in favour of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The current onion price rise is attributed to several factors, primarily a supply-demand mismatch. The old stock from the Rabi season, harvested in March 2024, is almost depleted, and the new stock from the Kharif season has yet to hit the markets, primarily due to rainfall in central India.
This transitional period has led to a sharp decline in the supply of onions at major wholesale markets like Lasalgaon in Nashik, Maharashtra, from around 1,000 tonnes last year to just 200–250 tonnes in 2024.
Apart from domestic consumption, India also exports onions to countries like Bangladesh, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. With an export duty of 40%, then 20% in place, India has exported around 2.60 lakh tons of onion till July 31, 2024, according to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
It is undeniable that onion prices have played a significant role in shaping election outcomes in India.
The backlash over onion prices resulted in a defeat for the BJP in the 1998 Delhi Assembly polls.
In December 2023, with the Lok Sabha election just months away, the Centre imposed a ban on onion exports due to concerns over a potential shortage caused by a weak monsoon.
Many farmers in the onion-growing belt of Nashik and adjoining districts protested on the streets and blocked national highways.
Later, the ban was extended in March 2024 but was later lifted in May with certain restrictions, including a Minimum Export Price (MEP) of $555 and an export duty of 40%. This was right in the midst of the Lok Sabha election, with voting in some phases remaining.
The total ban on onion exports was perceived as detrimental to farmers’ interests in the region and the flip-flops obviously did not go down well with the onion farmers of Maharashtra.
In Maharashtra’s ‘onion belt’, comprising 12 Lok Sabha seats — Dindori, Nashik, Shirdi, Ahmednagar, Dhule, Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Raver, Shirur, Baramati, Maval, and Pune — the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition faced a significant setback, losing 8 seats, including Nashik.
In northeastern Maharashtra’s Dindori, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had campaigned, Bharati Pawar, a minister of state in his government, lost her seat.
However, in September, with the general election done and dusted, the export duty was reduced from 40% to 20%, and an exemption was given on the MEP. The ban was lifted soon after the elections, leading to stabilisation in wholesale markets.
It is perhaps this precedent that has prompted the Centre to not take any drastic steps on the export of onions while the Maharashtra election is under way.
Maharashtra farmer leader and former MP, Raju Shetti, in a conversation with Kisan Tak, pointed that out. Kisan Tak is India Today Digital’s sister portal dedicated to agriculture, climate and environment.
Shetti signalled that the central government might reimpose an export ban on onions only after the Assembly elections have been held in Maharashtra. He said that the government is currently tolerating high onion prices only out of compulsion.
“If the government could impose an export ban when prices were Rs 3,000 per quintal, why is it silent now when wholesale prices are Rs 4,000- Rs 5,000 per quintal? Clearly, the Assembly elections are a major compulsion,” he said.
Shetti also pointed out that onion farmers in Maharashtra had dealt a significant blow to the BJP and its allies in the Lok Sabha elections, which is forcing it to remain silent due to electoral compulsions.
Maharashtra votes on November 20 in a single phase, with counting and results scheduled for November 23.
The high prices could potentially benefit the ruling government, as farmers might see the current prices as a boon despite the overall shortage. However, retail consumers are bearing the brunt of these high prices, which could also sway voter sentiment. Until the ballots in Maharashtra are counted, onions will likely remain at the centre of both dining tables and election debates.