Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday, 18 June 2026, invoked the agrarian crisis of the 2004–2014 period to argue that the Narendra Modi-led central government had reversed a decade of farmer distress, stating that the wave of suicides that claimed lakhs of farmers during that era was brought to a halt after 2014.

Context

In his post, Adityanath wrote: 'Varsh 2004 se lekar 2014 ke beech mein jis desh mein laakhon kisaanon ne aatmhatya ki, varsh 2014 ke baad us par viraam laga...' — translating to: 'In the country where lakhs of farmers committed suicide between 2004 and 2014, a full stop was put on that after 2014.' The statement is a pointed political contrast between the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's tenure and the BJP-led administration that followed.

The UPA government, a Congress-led coalition, held power at the centre from 2004 to 2014. Farmer suicides remained a persistent and widely reported crisis throughout that period, with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) — the central agency that compiles annual suicide statistics — documenting tens of thousands of such deaths annually across several states.

Policy Backdrop

The Modi government, since taking office in 2014, has introduced a series of schemes aimed at reducing agrarian distress. The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, launched in 2016, expanded crop insurance coverage to shield farmers from weather-related losses. The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, introduced in 2019, provides direct income support of Rs 6,000 per year to eligible landholding farmer families.

The UPA era was not without its own interventions — the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), enacted in 2005, was designed to provide rural employment and cushion agrarian households against income shocks. BJP leaders have, however, consistently argued that these measures were insufficient to stem the tide of farmer deaths during that decade.

Stakeholders and Impact

Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state and one of its largest agrarian economies, has a direct stake in national farm-welfare policy. Under Adityanath, the state government has aligned its programmes with central schemes, frequently citing NCRB data in public communications to underscore improvements in farmer welfare.

The post is directed at a broad audience of farmers and rural voters, a constituency that remains decisive in Uttar Pradesh elections. By anchoring the narrative in the 2004–2014 versus post-2014 frame, the messaging reinforces the BJP's long-standing electoral argument that governance under Congress-led coalitions was marked by rural neglect.

What's Next

The next release of the NCRB's annual report on accidental deaths and suicides will be closely watched for the latest data on farmer suicides, which remains the empirical reference point for such political claims. Any forthcoming Uttar Pradesh state budget announcements on agricultural schemes are also expected to build on this narrative. The BJP's framing of the 2004–2014 period as a benchmark of failure — and post-2014 policy as a corrective — is likely to remain a central theme in the party's outreach to farming communities ahead of future electoral cycles.