BJP ruled states plan to splurge more on farmers in addition to KISAN sheme

BJP-ruled states are planning to shower farmers with more goodies, including new measures to support rural people in addition to the Rs 6,000 that the Centre will pay small and marginal cultivators, as all parties have stepped up efforts to woo rural voters in the run-up to the general elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a second term in this year’s elections in which the spotlight is on rural issues after several protests by farmers, and the victory of parties like Congress (in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh) and BJP (in Uttar Pradesh) promising loan waivers to farmers.

Agriculture and farmer welfare minister Radha Mohan Singh said the BJP has a strong commitment towards farmers. The Jharkhand government had already promised cash payments to farmers, which along with a similar amount from the PM-KISAN scheme would give each farmer about Rs 12,000 a year, he said.


The budget of Uttar Pradesh, which will be presented on Thursday, will focus on farmer welfare, a top-ranking state functionary said.

“Agriculture and farmer welfare will be at the core of our budget. We have already waived loans of farmers and our focus remains on agriculture. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath is carrying forward the agenda set by the prime minister. We are doing everything to help farmers,” he said.

Another source said that the BJP wants the relatively prosperous party-ruled states such as Gujarat and Maharashtra to take the lead in enhancing schemes for farmers and that their budgets should reflect the spirit of the interim Union budget presented last week. Cabinet minister Piyush Goyal announced payment of Rs 6,000 in three instalments to farmers owning up to 2 hectares of land.

Radha Mohan Singh said states had responded very positively to the PM-KISAN scheme. “We have held discussions with states. Most of them would give their list of beneficiaries in 10 to 15 days. We are committed to farmer welfare,” he said.

An official in the UP government said: “District officials are on a war footing to implement the PM-KISAN scheme and other initiatives for farmers.”

In Maharashtra, officials said the government has already started the procedure for implementation of the PM-KISAN scheme, and hopes to complete the administrative requirement this month itself.

The state’s finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said the government would vigorously implement existing schemes for farmers in the state. He said the state’s main budget would give much more to farmers. “It will be a farmerfocussed budget with the theme ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan'. We have already started holding meetings to design various schemes,” he told ET.

Gujarat deputy chief minister Nitinbhai Patel told ET that the state would take steps for the common people including farmers, apart from steps for infrastructure and businesses in the state, which is among the most industrialised states of the country.

Radha Mohan Singh said the Centre’s scheme would help farmers in many ways. “It will also protect farmers from the clutches of moneylenders and ensure continuity in their farm activities. This scheme will also enable them to modernise their agricultural practices, and this income support along with other schemes will help them live a life of dignity,” Singh said.

Many farm leaders are demanding much more. The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), which organised a march from Nashik to Mumbai last year, plans a similar protest from February 20. “This time, the number of participating farmers will double. We will reach Mumbai when the budget session is on,” said Ashok Dhawale, president of the Left-affiliated AIKS.

He was critical of the Centre’s scheme for farmers and said farm loans should be waived. “We want to not only demand implementation of the promises given in writing to us by the government following the Long March of last year, but also condemn the bogus scheme of giving Rs 6,000 per year to farmer, which is just about Rs 3.33 per person (of a farmer family) per day.”