Adityanath's July agenda: Final nod to farm loan waiver, budget, Prez poll

After the eventful completion of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s maiden 100 days in office, July brings some hope in terms of regaining lost ground for the Yogi regime, which has been facing criticism over the state’s poor law and order situation. 

To begin with, the state’s Budget session, slated for next week, will allow the government to table its proposal of waiving off crop loans worth over Rs 36,000 crore. If approved, the move will hugely benefit small and medium farmers in the state.

Although the state Cabinet had given its nod to the proposal on April 4, it was still held in abeyance for want of legislative approval.

News of banks starting to send recovery notices to farmers, who are supposedly covered under the scheme, had raised hackles in the government. This prompted CM Adityanath to direct banks to wait until the state government got the proposal passed by the legislature and distributed waiver certificates to the beneficiary farmers.

Besides, the state government has also announced its much-awaited new industrial policy that seeks to aggressively promote ‘Brand UP’ and ‘Make in UP’ with tax incentives, congenial business environment, security and proactive stances.

Presidential elections

This is the first time that a native of UP is contesting for the office of President. Since it is the country’s most populous state and accounts for the highest number of votes in the electoral college, UP is bound to play an important role in the process. The ruling party at the Centre, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has fielded Ram Nath Kovind for the presidential run, while rival party Congress has pitched former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar as the Opposition’s nominee.

Although Kovind’s victory is certain given the dominant numbers the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) commands, the Yogi camp will still play a significant role in extending their support on the floor of the House.

This will entail proving his parliamentary prowess and floor management skills, all towards ensuring that Kovind gets votes from the Opposition camp as well. For this, projecting the BJP candidate as a native of UP would perhaps be more helpful rather than laying emphasis on a particular party or formation.

At the same time, the Presidential elections will bring to light the extent of the fissure in the Adityanath government’s principal opposition - the Samajwadi Party (SP) - with its party president, Akhilesh Yadav, being mired in what seems to be a raging power feud against his father Mulayam Singh Yadav and uncle Shivpal. While Team Akhilesh is rooting for Meira, the SP old guards, supported by some other leaders such as the independent legislator Raghuraj Pratap Singh, have indicated their support for Kovind.

Besides, there are rumours that other disgruntled SP leaders are planning to use the Presidential polls to express their annoyance at the way the party is being run by Akhilesh.

Cross voting by SP would also weaken the prospect of the anti-BJP front mooted by Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, who envisions a larger formation comprising arch rivals SP and the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party. If this happens, Adityanath would be credited for political diplomacy and strengthening BJP at the national level.

Law and order

The state government has been pushed into a corner over the rising number of criminal incidents, including murders, rapes, burglaries, and armed robberies, across the state. 

Having completed 100 days in office, the government is now on a virtual transfer spree. It has effected hundreds of transfers in the state’s bureaucratic offices, police posts, and state services cadres over the past week to send out a message about the regime taking cognisance of the matter and responding accordingly.

Among the top officers transferred are the UP state chief secretary and the state's additional director general of police (law and order).

Adityanath is also personally taking stock of progress on the ground and has asked officials to complete pending tasks by July 15.