Rising onion prices get a tinge of politics in poll season

Jaipur: The rising onion prices in the election season have got a tinge of politics in them. In Rajasthan, Congress has blamed the Centre and BJP has blamed the mismanagement of the state government. Onion prices in the state have reached Rs 80 per kg for the common consumer. Whereas in bulk this price has reached Rs 60 per kg.

If onion traders are to be believed, this boom is expected to continue till Diwali. The reason behind the rising prices of onion is being said to be lack of local production. The arrival of onion from Alwar, a major onion producing district, has not started yet. Apart from this, negligible amount of onion is arriving in Muhana Mandi from Nashik. Currently, onions from Bangalore, Maharashtra & Egypt are reaching Muhana Mandi.

In view of the rising prices of onion amid the assembly elections in five states, the BJP government at the Center has reduced the minimum export price i.e. MEP of onion to 800 dollars per tonne to maintain domestic availability of onion.

It is recorded in history of the country’s democracy that the increased prices of onion have brought down many governments. In 1998 itself, onion became an issue in the Rajasthan Assembly elections. “Onion was after us,” BJP CM Bhairon Singh Shekhawat had said after losing the elections.