YSR Congress Party president and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is reportedly facing pressure from within the party to include a crop loan waiver for farmers in the YSRCP manifesto for the 2029 Assembly elections.
During the 2024 elections, several party leaders had reportedly suggested that Jagan announce a farm loan waiver. However, he did not accept the proposal at the time, with party leaders saying he was confident that the welfare schemes implemented under his government would help the YSRCP return to power.
Now, some leaders are once again urging Jagan to consider a crop loan waiver, arguing that such a promise could help the party reconnect with the farming community.
On Monday, former YSRCP MLA from Kovur in Nellore district, Nallapareddy Prasanna Kumar Reddy, publicly demanded that the party include a Rs 2 lakh farm loan waiver in its manifesto for the 2029 Assembly elections.
Speaking at an extended YSRCP meeting in Buchireddypalem, Prasanna Kumar Reddy said farmers were facing financial difficulties after borrowing money for agricultural activities and argued that the party should make a farm loan waiver a major electoral promise.
He recalled that before the 2024 Assembly elections, he had urged Jagan to announce a Rs 1 lakh loan waiver for farmers.
According to Prasanna Kumar Reddy, Jagan had told him at the time that the state’s financial position was not suitable for making such a promise and that he did not want to make what he considered unrealistic assurances.
Prasanna Kumar Reddy, however, said the YSRCP should now commit to a Rs 2 lakh farm loan waiver in its 2029 manifesto.
He went a step further and said that, if necessary, he would stage a protest outside Jagan’s residence in Tadepalli to persuade the party leadership to accept the demand.
The former MLA said farmers had traditionally supported the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy family and argued that the agricultural community had benefited during the tenures of both YSR and Jagan Mohan Reddy.
He said the YSRCP should continue to give farmers a central place in its political agenda.
Prasanna Kumar Reddy also criticised the present coalition government, alleging that it was accumulating substantial debt.
He urged YSRCP leaders and cadres to highlight the welfare schemes and development programmes implemented during the previous YSRCP government through a door-to-door campaign.
He said the party’s long-term objective was to bring Jagan Mohan Reddy back as Chief Minister in 2029.
For now, however, the Rs 2 lakh crop loan waiver remains a demand from within the party, and the YSRCP leadership has not officially announced that it will be included in its 2029 manifesto.
