Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interactions with farmers from 600 districts via the NaMo app were aimed at improving his connect with the vast agrarian populace. Since the farm sector is in dire straits, the PM felt obliged to assure the tillers that his government is working towards doubling their incomes by 2022. The series of measures undertaken by the government, including this year’s budgetary allocation that fixed Minimum Support Price at 1.5 times the input cost, will mitigate rural distress. PM’s address highlighted how farmers now have soil cards, easy access to fertilisers, and exposure to alternative sources of income such as poultry, fisheries, and bee-keeping.

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Tackling institutional problems in the agricultural sector is a time-consuming affair, but the central government is willing to undertake that daunting task. PM Modi’s outreach programmes -- on June 27, he will address the economically weaker section of the society -- will make people aware that his government is pro-poor and pro-farmer. Unlike the Congress-led NPA, the BJP-led NDA will not abdicate its responsibility towards the vulnerable families who are battling acute poverty or reeling under financial insecurity.

The 2019 elections will be a litmus test for the current dispensation. BJP President Amit Shah has targeted 22 crore votes for the BJP, which is five crore more than what the BJP had garnered in 2014. He is banking on the government’s welfare schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana to swing the tide in favour of the BJP. Since Narendra Modi himself rose to power from extremely humble origins – a fact that he wears as a badge of honour – it is only natural that his government remains true to its credo of empowering the poor.