Akhilesh Yadav Unveils Farmer-Focused Promises Ahead Of 2027 UP Elections

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday announced a series of measures aimed at improving farmers’ incomes and rural infrastructure if his party returns to power in Uttar Pradesh after the 2027 Assembly elections.

Interacting with farmers who met him, Yadav said rising prices of agricultural machinery and essential commodities were adding to the financial pressure on the farming community. He alleged that farmers were not receiving adequate support or the full benefits of government policies.

Yadav promised that an SP government would provide free irrigation to farmers and ensure that payments due to them were cleared within 24 to 48 hours. His remarks build on earlier commitments to speed up payments to sugarcane farmers, with the SP chief having previously spoken of ensuring payment within 24 hours of cane sales.

The SP chief also proposed establishing dairy facilities on a large scale, saying the initiative would create additional income opportunities for farming families and strengthen the rural economy. He stressed that the financial condition of farmers was closely linked to the strength of the wider economy.

Yadav also targeted the government's ethanol-blending programme, alleging that the financial benefits generated through ethanol blending were not adequately reaching farmers. He said farmers continued to face difficulties despite the policy generating revenue.

On electricity, Yadav criticised the state government's record on power generation and alleged that projects initiated during previous SP governments remained incomplete. He said improving electricity and irrigation infrastructure would be among the priorities of an SP government.

The SP chief also stepped up his criticism of the BJP, accusing it of corruption and questioning its development model. He said the goal of building a USD 1 trillion economy could not be achieved through what he described as irregularities and misappropriation.

Asked about reports that some BJP MLAs were in contact with him ahead of the elections, Yadav said many were indeed in contact, but questioned how they could be accommodated without making promises that might later be broken.

Yadav's latest announcements come as political parties intensify their preparations for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, with farmer income, agricultural input costs, irrigation, electricity and rural development emerging as prominent issues in the state's political outreach.