Cane growers from the sugar bowl of Maharashtra are happy this time as the statutory minimum price (SMP) for sugarcane has been hiked to Rs 107.76 per quintal for the upcoming crushing season from Rs 81.18 a year ago. The politicians are happier and the happiest are political big-wigs of the ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) democratic front as they want to en-cash this “feel-sweet factor” during the state assembly elections scheduled on October 13. However, these sugar barons are also swallowing the bitter pill of intra-party rebellion in this “green-belt” of the state.