Punjab’s ruling Akali Dal, an integral part of the BJP-led NDA, is in a fix with many party leaders in favour of FDI in multi-brand retail. What has forced the party’s top brass to give it serious consideration is the decision of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, which represents the state’s farmers and is part of the core Akali support base, to back FDI in retail.
BKU leader Ajmer Singh Lakhowal, who also heads the Punjab Mandi Board, told this newspaper: “FDI in retail is welcome. It will be good for an agrarian state like Punjab, and should be implemented with proper guidelines to safeguard farmers’ interests.” He added: “Middlemen make huge profits, causing a loss to both farmers and consumers. With the advent of FDI in retail, middlemen will vanish and both consumers and farmers will benefit.”
While chief minister Parkash Singh Badal is against FDI in retail, many others including his son Sukhbir Singh Badal, Punjab’s deputy chief minister, appear to have a different opinion and may be open to allowing retail FDI.