Despite the Maharashtra Government’s hesitation to declare a date for the total farm loan waiver, citing the state’s deteriorated financial condition, farmers’ leaders hard-bargained late Thursday to make Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his two deputies — Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar — accept the demand.

Thousands of farmers protested for three days on National Highway 44 outside Nagpur, blocking the city and demanding a total farm loan waiver. The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court took a suo motu notice of the traffic jams Wednesday, and directed the stoppage of the agitation.

On Thursday night, the delegation held a meeting with CM Fadnavis, Pawar, and Shinde.

“We had promised a farm loan waiver in our election manifesto. We are committed to the same. We have formed a high-le

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