Fresh from their party’s rout in the Lok Sabha election, Congress chief ministers Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath announced sops for farmers in their respective state budgets on Wednesday, imposed no new taxes and gave clear indications that they were in no mood to quit. 

“I have been made CM by Rahul Gandhi as this was the public voice from every village in Rajasthan… hence I will work in the same way,” Gehlot said after his government announced a Rs 1,000 crore Krishi Kalyan Kosh (fund for farmers) in the budget. 

In Madhya Pradesh, the Kamal Nath government said it had earmarked Rs 8,000 crore for waiving more farm loans in the state. The CM said the government not imposing any new tax on people was a historic step given a host of allocations made for welfare schemes. The government has set aside Rs 1,000 crore for extending loans to farmers in the state.