981 Farmer Suicides Recorded in Karnataka in 16 Months. BJP Accuses Congress Government of Negligence, Congress Responds by Calling BJP Misleading. Farmers' Issues are Once Again at the Forefront.
Karnataka: A political storm is brewing in Karnataka over farmer suicides. A total of 981 farmer suicide cases have been registered in the state in the past 16 months, from 2024 to 2025. Of these, 825 cases have been identified as eligible farmer suicides, while 138 cases are believed to be related to other causes. The state government has so far provided compensation to 807 victim families, while compensation is still pending in 18 cases.
Haveri Records Highest Number of Suicides
Among all the districts in the state, Haveri has recorded the highest number of suicides at 128. This is followed by Mysuru with 73, Dharwad with 72, and Belagavi with 71 confirmed cases. In contrast, no farmer suicides have been reported from Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Udupi, and Kolar. These figures have been shared by the state government.
BJP Blames Congress Government
The BJP has directly attacked the Congress government over the increasing cases of farmer suicides. BJP state president BY Vijayendra said that the atmosphere of fear and despair among farmers is a result of the Congress government's policy negligence. He alleged that the Congress has not made any concrete improvements in the agricultural sector since coming to power.
Vijayendra mentioned the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, stating that the previous BJP government, in addition to the central assistance, provided relief to more than 5.2 million farmers by giving an additional ₹4,000. He also alleged that the Congress government has also discontinued the 'Raitha Vidyanidhi Yojana' started by Basavaraj Bommai, which was helpful in the higher education of farmers' children.
Congress Calls BJP's Allegations Misleading
The Congress has called the BJP's allegations misleading. Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad said that the suicide of 981 farmers is a very serious matter, but the BJP is politicizing it. He said that the state government has written to the Center seeking cooperation in this matter and has also drawn attention to issues such as the shortage of pesticides.
Demand for Policy Review and Solutions
Experts believe that farmer suicides are not just a seasonal or debt-related problem, but are also related to the state of agricultural policy, support prices, market access, and basic facilities such as irrigation in the state. Farmer organizations say that if these issues are not addressed immediately at the policy level, the situation could worsen.
