BHOPAL: In an intriguing sideshow in Madhya Pradesh’s election drama, a large section of farmers has stopped repaying loans after AICC chief

promised to waive farm loans of up to Rs 2 lakh if Congress is voted to power. Farm loan repayments have dropped by at least 10% across the state, officials of cooperative and nationalized banks told TOI.

Rahul had first promised kisan loan waiver at a rally in Mandsaur on June 6 this year — the first anniversary of the death of five farmers in police firing. “If Congress government is formed, within 10 days your loans will be waived,” Rahul had said. He has since repeated his promise at every election meeting. And Congress put the waiver promise in its manifesto. With the farm community making up over 70% of the electorate, Congress is desperate to woo them over to its side. The tug of war is so fierce that PM Narendra Modi and chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan are going all out to counter it by accusing Congress of going back on its waiver promise in Punjab and Karnataka.

Within days of Rahul making the promise, however, farmers started skipping repayments. “Yes, there has been a decline of 10% in loan recovery over the past six months. Whether it is due to the Congress poll promise to waive loan, I won’t say, but the decline is abnormal because crops have been good, there has been excessive procurement and farmers received money under Bhavantar scheme as well. In such a situation, 10% drop obviously has some other reason,” said Mahendra Dixit, OSD for banking operations at MP State Cooperative Bank Ltd, which is the prime lender to farmers in the state.

“We are not sure of the reasons yet but there has certainly been a decline in recovery of loans from farmers. At the time of election, you can’t be tough with them, either. Let’s wait for the election outcome,” said a DGM-rank official of a nationalized bank, requesting not to be named.

Kisan leaders cutting across party lines agree that a sizeable section of farmers, who were paying their loans regularly, have stopped doing so following Rahul Gandhi’s announcement on waiver.

Rebel Bhartiya Kisan Sangh leader Shiv Kumar Sharma aka ‘Kakkaji’ said: “BJP in Madhya Pradesh promised loan waiver for farmers three times but never carried it out. Congress, during UPA government, had waived loans to the tune of Rs 74,000 crore. They are doing it in Punjab as well. Naturally, a section of farmers has discontinued repayment of loans, preferring to wait.”

Former district president of Bhartiya Kisan Sangh in Bhopal, Mishrilal Rajput, agreed that many farmers have stopped repayments. “Loan waiver seldom does any good to honest farmers, who want to pay off loans. It always benefits defaulters. Helping someone in distress is one thing but there should also be incentives for hardworking farmers. If the government could ensure remunerative prices for our products, loan waiver would not be required at all,” he said.

President of MP Kisan Congress, Dinesh Gurjar, said: “Some farmers are paying their dues and some have stopped. Farmers have full faith in Rahul Gandhi and they know their loans will be waived once Congress comes to power and such reaction from a section of farmers is not unnatural.”