Ahead of Thursday's by-election to the Hisar Lok Sabha seat, the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, today said he would take up the demand for hiking the minimum support price of crops with the Centre to compensate for increased DAP fertiliser prices.

Addressing election meetings in various villages of the Barwala and Uklana assembly segment in view of the October 13 Hisar by-elections, Mr Hooda said that DAP (fertiliser) rates keep on fluctuating as the fertilisers are imported from other countries.

He reminded the farmers that he got the MSP of wheat and other crops increased last year.

On October 6, Mr Hooda wrote to the Prime Minister and appealed to him to announce a bonus of Rs 200 a quintal over-and-above the MSP for the 2011 kharif season for all varieties of leviable paddy.

Mr Hooda had requested him to reconsider the decision of the government to enhance the MSP of paddy by Rs 80 a quintal over the last year and fix it at Rs 1,080 for common varieties and Rs 1,110 for Grade A varieties in the 2011 kharif marketing season.