DNA Edit: CAIT punch - Parties are bound to take note of small businesses

Since the anger of small traders was mounting because of the fact that their livelihoods were being threatened, it was inevitable that they would join hands to increase their bargaining power.

FDI in retail has dealt a body blow to neighbourhood shops, mom-and-pop stores and the ecosystem they had nurtured. Now the trading community across the country plans to put pressure on the government to address its grievances.

In a way, One Nation, One Trader, One Vote campaign, to be kicked off from February 1, has the power to change the dynamics of the poll arithmetic, thus making both the incumbent government as well as the Opposition parties wary of the development.

It sure is a potent weapon that people, acting as a collective, can bring to the table. Earlier, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) had filed a petition in the The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) against the Competition Commission of India’s decision to approve the US retail giant Walmart’s acquisition of e-commerce Flipkart.

The CAIT had accused Flipkart of engaging in the inventory-based model of e-commerce in the guise of operating under a marketplace model. In sheer desperation, the CAIT had also launched nationwide agitations last year.

The latest initiative, that has the support of at least 200-odd trade leaders from 24 states, is the culmination of years of struggle. In the electoral season, no party can upset, let alone ignore, “seven crore small businesses providing livelihood and employment to about 45 crore people and generating an annual business of about Rs 42 lakh crore”. By controlling the narrative, the traders’ body wants to remove the uncertainties plaguing their existence. It is unfortunate that things had to come to such a stage.