Y.S.Jagan Mohan Reddy, the son of the late Y.S.Rajasekhar Reddy – a man who brought so many reforms in united Andhra Pradesh – won with a vast majority because all of his plans and schemes were flagship ones of the ones his father introduced. People of Andhra Pradesh wanted Rajasekhar’s rule once again in the state, and they thought no one would be better than Jagan for that.
The main scheme that attracted the people of Andhra Pradesh, especially the farmers, was the free electricity scheme for all farmers. Y.S.Rajasekhar Reddy had initially introduced this scheme, where he made it clear that not a single penny would be taken from farmers for the current they use. He even said that there would be no meters installed where they work, either.
During N.T.Rama Rao’s time, Rs. 2 was collected for every horsepower used, but Rajasekhar Reddy said that his government wouldn’t even collect that. This was the main reason why everyone was attracted to his government. And there began free electricity for at least 6 hours for all farmers of Andhra Pradesh.
Jagan too said the very same thing during his campaign, but things are now looking very different. He has now announced that meters would be installed to their pump sets, and that the current usage would be measured. However, the government has also said that it would deposit this current amount in the bank accounts of farmers, and that they would simply have to pay the current bill using that money.
Sources are saying that this is scaring the farmers as they are getting scared as to whether the government will deposit the right amount of money. In case the government doesn’t deposit the right amount of money, then the farmers will have to pay the current bill from their pockets, which will be a huge burden for them.
Several senior analysts and politicians are questioning if the government will be able to do this, given that the government is not able to pay the salaries of government employees on time. It is now to be seen what will happen.
