Raghubir Singh Saini, a farmer from Piprauli village in Rajasthan’s Alwar district, owns just 5 bighas of land. Till five years ago, he worked as a small construction contractor as his land-holding was not enough to sustain his family. Now grappling with age-related ailments, he is fully dependent on his children and farms for wheat, mustard and some vegetables

Name & Age: Raghubir Singh Saini, 69

Education & Profession: Matriculate; farmer

Family & Place: Wife and two sons, Ramesh (44) and Yogesh (38). Eldest daughter is married and lives in Bharatpur; Piprauli village

Do you earn more or less, compared with 2019?

My income is almost zero since I quit my contractor work five years ago. The yield from my land is not enough to feed my family. Farming has suffered badly over the years due to the acute water crisis. The water table has gone down some 600 feet and boring costs a lot to irrigate the land.

My wife and I are dependent on our sons’ earnings. They are painters in a private factory in Alwar, 15km away, and earn around ₹30,000 a month

Do you save more or less compared with 2019?

I don’t have any savings. I am totally dependent on my sons

What things does your house now have that it did not in 2019?

My sons got a new LED television set and a motorcycle two years ago

Have central/state govt schemes made any difference to your life? How?

Yes, I get ₹6,000 annually under the PM Kisan Samman scheme and I also have an Ayushman health card provided by the Modi government. I have used the card once for my kidney stone surgery

Do your children go to school? If it’s a govt school, then has there been any change in standards/ infrastructure?

My grandchildren study in the government school. The school building and other facilities have improved but the quality of teachers has gone down

Do you encounter more corruption or less in your daily life? Can you cite from personal experience areas where you are directly affected by corruption?

Corruption has increased. I hope corruption will come down under the new
BJP government in the state. My son had to pay ₹1,000 as bribe to get his driver’s licence

Alwar voted on April 19