E-Paper
Farmers, women key focus in YSRC, TDP manifestos
YSRCP chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy promised to implement a complete ban on liquor sales in Andhra Pradesh, in three phases, if his party is voted to power.Only five-star hotels will eventually be allowed to serve liquor.
Andhra Pradesh’s ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Opposition YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) unveiled election manifestos heavily oriented towards farmers and women on Saturday, five days before the state votes simultaneously in Lok Sabha and state assembly polls.
The release of manifestos came on a day the southern state celebrated Ugadi, the Telugu New Year’s Day.
TDP president and chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said his party, if re-elected, would ensure interest-free loans to farmers without any cap and implement a scheme called “Annadata Sukhibhava” (may the donor of food be happy) under which farmers would get crop investment assistance of ₹10,000 per year. Naidu also promised to create a price stabilisation fund of ₹5,000 crore for market intervention to ensure remunerative prices for farm produce .
He said the TDP would create an exclusive bank for other backward classes with a corpus of ₹10,000 crore and a similar one for Muslims.
YSRCP chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy promised to implement a complete ban on liquor sales in Andhra Pradesh, in three phases, if his party is voted to power.Only five-star hotels will eventually be allowed to serve liquor.
The four-page manifesto promised investment support of ₹50,000 per year to each farmer, free crop insurance, interest-free loans, and construction of warehouses, cold storages and food processing plants. For women, Reddy promised payment of ₹15,000 per annum for schools fees of their children, ₹50,000 for Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) groups, and ₹75,000 for women aged above 45 years belonging to underprivileged sectors.
