MUMBAI, Oct. 18 -- Onions, a political hot potato, are back at the centre of Maharashtra's politics. With the price of the kitchen staple plummeting 30-40% for farmers, they warn of a backlash during the upcoming local body elections. Maharashtra is a major producer of onions, with lakhs of farmers growing it as a cash crop. But, this year, it's a dark Diwali for farmers in the onion producing regions of Nashik, Pune, Ahilyanagar, Solapur, Dhule and parts of Marathwada. They blame the central government for flooding the market with onions ahead of the festive season, to curry favour with voters. The move, they believe, stems from a bitter lesson the BJP-led government learnt last year; only, they may have gone too far. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, the central government had restricted onion exports, bringing down prices considerably to allegedly please consumers. Maharashtra's farmers, who had suffered huge losses, used the ballot to express their displeasure - and the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance lost in every Lok Sabha constituency in these areas, in the state. With the pendulum swinging to the other extreme, onion prices now range from Rs.700 to Rs.1,100 per quintal. "Just two months ago, prices ranged from Rs.1,000 and Rs.1,600 per quintal," said Bharat Dighole, president of the Maharashtra Onion Producer Farmers' Association in Nashik. Dighole charges the centre with releasing onion stocks into the market with an eye on consumers in metro cities. "Now, farmers are paying the price for the centre's anti-farmer policy again." He pointed out that releasing stocks procured through the National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) is meant to keep prices stable in times of shortage. The mechanism is not meant to be used as a political tool. "After reducing GST, the government wants consumers to get everything cheap. Their approach is consumer-focused. In the city, consumers can buy onions for Rs.30 per kg, while farmers get a maximum Rs.10 from this," alleges Dighole. Jaydeep Bhadane, an onion producer from Nashik, says farmers can use the impending elections to teach their political leaders a lesson. "Zilla parishad and panchayat committee elections will be held soon. Onion farmers should unite and only stand with candidates who support farmers," said Bhadane. Despite repeated attempts by HT, Jaykumar Rawal, state marketing minister, was unavailable for comment. However, Pasha Patel, BJP leader and chairperson of the committee formed by the state government to look into onion production and policy, said, "It's true that onion prices have fallen as the central government has released buffer stocks into the market. We have requested chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to call for a meeting to review the situation and raise the issue with the central government."...