If the "Telangana sentiment" helped BRS come to power in Telangana for the first time in the 2014 Assembly polls, with K. Chandrashekar Rao becoming Chief Minister, it was the farmers who drove BRS to power for the second term in the 2018 Assembly polls.
This was primarily due to the implementation of policies like Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima, 24-hour free electricity supply to agriculture, and paddy procurement at minimum support prices (MSP).
However, the situation appears to be turning against BRS ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, which are just four months away.
Farmers, who have been supporting KCR and BRS all these years, now seem to be deserting them due to the failure of the KCR government in fulfilling the crucial electoral promise of waiving crop loans worth Rs 1 lakh made during the 2018 Assembly polls.
While nearly 35 lakh farmers were eligible for the farm loan waiver, the KCR government has only been able to waive loans for less than 6 lakh farmers over the past five years.
As a result, banks in Telangana have labeled nearly 20 lakh farmers as "defaulters" and frozen their accounts.
Banks are now issuing legal notices to farmers, demanding immediate repayment of loans or facing legal consequences.
Farmers are shocked to receive notices asking them to repay Rs 1.50 lakh for a Rs 60,000 loan they took in 2018.
Banks have imposed interest and penalties on farmers for their failure to repay loans or renew them by paying interest over the past five years.
Opposition parties, such as Congress and BJP, are now targeting the farmers' vote bank in Telangana, which is turning away from BRS.
Meanwhile, the KCR government is helplessly grappling with a fund crunch to fulfill its promise of clearing farmers' loans.
In response, farmers have decided to hold protests, along with the opposition parties, in front of banks in all mandals, demanding that the KCR government implements the Rs 1 lakh crop loan waiver and clears farmers' loans immediately.
According to Dharani records, there are over 70 lakh farmers in Telangana, and opposition parties are hopeful of gaining the support of this significant vote bank in the upcoming Assembly polls.
