UP elections: Free electricity promises in the era of power reforms

From Agra to Etawah to Mainpuri, which was the bastion of Mulayam Singh Yadav, for years, rural consumers are content with domestic electricity supply of 12-18 hours

Jitendra Kumar, a farmer in Makhanpur village, Karhal, is hopeful that if voted to power, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will give farmers like him free electricity.

Yadav is fighting election for the first time from Karhal. His party’s manifesto says there will be a door-to-door campaign to provide 300 units of free electricity to domestic consumers.

“We are receiving only 12 hours’ electricity a day. We pay heavy tubewell bills of around Rs 2,200 a month. We are hopeful that Akhilesh Yadav will do some good for us,” said Jitendra Kumar.

From Agra to Etawah to Mainpuri, which was