(Bloomberg) -- Indian farmers, who carried on protesting even after parliament repealed three contentious farm laws, have finally decided to call off their agitation after the government accepted most of their other demands.

They ended the strike after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government agreed to consider an overhaul of the system for guaranteed crop prices, withdraw criminal cases lodged against growers in various states and compensate families of the people who died during the protest. 

 “The protests have been withdrawn because most of the demands have been met,” Dharmendra Malik, spokesman for farmers group Bhartiya Kisan Union, said by phone.

The end of the agitation may bring relief to Modi ahead of five state elections next year. The repeal of the laws, his biggest policy reversal since assuming power in 2014, holds significance as farmers form a powerful voting bloc in the country, with 60% of its 1.4 billion people dependent on agriculture for a living. 

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.