Almost two months after the notes ban, farmers in Punjab remain distressed by the cash crunch.
In Gajju Majra near Patiala, 32-year-old Harpreet Singh wakes up and heads straight to the bank. From 7 am, he waits in a queue along with his fellow farmers to withdraw money, so that he can buy fodder to feed his cattle and essential material for his crop. Almost two months after the notes ban, farmers in Punjab remain distressed by the cash crunch. The political leadership from Patiala hold diverse views on the impact the notes ban will have in the election-bound state.
Farmer Harpreet Singh told NDTV that he has not been able to buy necessary pesticides for his crop which would have an affect his yield.
"If they wanted to introduce the notes ban, they should have taken adequate measures. They could have waited until the end of the sowing season. I have sown the rabi crop, but my yield will be nothing this season. There will a lot of crop loss," Harpreet Singh said.
Member of Parliament from Patiala Dr Dharamvir Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party feels: "Certainly a section of the public is angry with the BJP government's demonetization drive. The middle class doesn't have much at stake and hence it might not have been affected by it. But poor people are definitely affected."
Surjit Singh Kohli, who is the Shiromani Akali Dal president for Patiala, feels the demonetisation drive will have a positive impact on the SAD-BJP alliance.
"This is a very good move by the Modi government to catch those hoarding black money. It will not affect us, this is a good move. The party will win, will win, will win," Mr Kohli said.
Leader of the opposition in the Patiala Municipal Corporation Sanjeev Sharma of the Congress said the people's confidence in the government is bound to take a hit. "Elections are very important, people now see how irresponsible they (BJP and its allies) are and how overconfident PM Modi is. People are waiting to tear them apart," Mr Sharma said. When asked if the BJP ally SAD government would get votes in the upcoming Punjab assembly elections, he said: "Absolutely not, people are very angry with them."
The problems of the people in rural Punjab continue almost two months after the notes ban, but with elections just a few months away, the question of who would win the mandate in Punjab remains to be seen.