Not long ago, Prime Minister Modi dreamt of wresting more than 400 seats in the Lok Sabha and this was when he scornfully described the budgetary allocations to the economically weaker sections and women as “revadis”. After the Lok Sabha debacle, he has become a champion of revadis because he has realised that brand Modi is no longer a crowd puller. Modi’s journey in welfare schemes began with loans from PSUs and LIC. Then he switched to state funding. Now, his major focus is Modi guarantees. The battle of guarantees was at its zenith during the Karnataka polls and now PM Modi has become a full-fledged, competitive promoter of poll-eve freebies. The Maharashtra elections saw 146 freebies being rolled out by the NDA. During the Haryana elections, too, the BJP had announced Rs 2100 monthly allowance for women, scooters for girls, free dialysis for patients, and two lakh government jobs. With the Delhi elections round the corner, the electoral air is reeking with a competitive freebie culture. AAP freebies in Delhi include the Mahila Samman Yojna for women ranging from Rs 1000 to Rs 2100 per month and Sanjeevni health care scheme for people above 60 years. AAP has claimed that so far 1.3 million people have registered. AAP has also promised accidental and life insurance for auto rickshaw drivers to the tune of Rs 15 lakh, a uniform allowance of Rs 2500 and Rs 1 lakh as wedding expenses for their daughters. Kejriwal has also promised Rs 18000 as an allowance to the granthis and priests.
Congress has promised Rs 8500 for skill training of the unemployed, Rs 2500 under the Pyari Didi Yojna and Rs 25 lakh insurance under the Jeevan Raksha Yojna.
Freebie culture has acquired seemingly treacherous levels now, with Kejriwal claiming that the BJP is distributing gold chains, sarees, shoes, and jackets to lure voters. Recently, BJP leader Pravesh Verma was caught on camera distributing shoes to voters in the New Delhi constituency. Despite this, the EC seems to be blind to any violation of the model code of conduct. In fact, the BJP released its second manifesto in Delhi with a long list of freebies again.
Needy students will receive free education from KG to PG in government educational institutions.
Needy aspirants, willing to appear for competitive exams, will also be provided Rs 15,000 lump sum financial assistance.
The BJP said it will form a SIT to adopt a ‘zero tolerance’ policy against mis-governance and corruption done by the AAP government in Delhi.
SC students to get a monthly stipend of Rs 1,000 under the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Stipend Yojana.
The party has promised to set up a welfare board for auto-taxi drivers, life insurance of Rs 10 lakh, accident insurance of Rs 5 lakh and vehicle insurance along with scholarships for their children.
A welfare board for domestic workers will be created, providing life insurance of Rs 10 lakh, accident insurance of Rs 5 lakh, scholarships for their children and 6 months of paid maternity leave.
The number of beneficiaries of PM Swanidhi Yojana to be doubled.
The BJP is outdoing every other political party as far as doling out freebies is concerned. Revadis have become a political compulsion and a mantra for survival for Modi and the BJP. How it will fulfill its promises is a serious question, given its poor track record of fulfilling them. PM Modi, while commenting on revadis, had said that political parties in various states are spending recklessly without any thought for future generations. The same Modi has somersaulted and taken a sharp U-turn on revadis. In 2022, then CJI NV Ramanna had said that freebies should not be dealt with politically but with fiscal planning. The Fiscal Responsibility Management Act clearly states that fiscal deficit cannot go beyond 3 percent. This time, Delhi alone is running into a deficit. Kapil Sibal had suggested to the CJI then that the freebies matter should be taken up by the Finance Commission. However, not much work has happened in that area, and the battle of freebies gets uglier with each passing day, indicating how casually political parties take the suggestions of the Apex court.
The political reality is that when governments want to divert from the main issues, freebies become a bankable plank. Modi’s volte-face on freebies is a realisation of his declining charisma and popularity, which is why the Delhi election has become a cocktail of freebies and manipulation for the BJP. As far as manipulation is concerned, several stories have surfaced about rampant deletions and additions in voters’ list, and how Form 7 is being used as a weapon by booth-level officers along with panna pramukhs. Can freebies help the BJP come back to power in Delhi after a long hiatus of 25 years?
Neelu Vyas is a senior television anchor and digital content creator. Twitter: @neeluopines
