Politics Of ‘Freebies’ And How It Dominates India’s Elections

Elections in Madhya Pradesh are five months away. After losing Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying every trick and trade to secure its hold over Madhya Pradesh. In addition to fighting anti-incumbency after two years of the current government and 13 previous years (2005-2018) under Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the state’s longest-serving chief minister, the BJP in MP is also struggling with rampant factionalism as top leaders are aspiring to be named as the next chief minister, along with allegations of corruption. As elections approach, the BJP and Congress are contesting to win the vote bank with big promises. The politics of “freebies” has come to the fore while a debate grows on the side as to how it adversely impacts the economy of the state and the country.

The distribution of “freebies” has become a part and parcel of electioneering in India. It is indistinguishable from election campaigns where politicians make promises of free water, electricity, ration, meals, TVs, laptops, tablets, bicycles, scooters, gas cylinders and public transport as a shortcut to woo voters instead of setting long-term development goals like employment guarantees, state support for education and health facilities, and other welfare schemes.

It has helped Prime Minister Narendra Modi coin the term “revdi culture” that he frequently uses in his public speeches to target past governments who “failed” to deliver on fundamental necessities. The prime minister has time and again warned taxpayers of the dangerous trend of parties ‘buying people’ by distributing free goodies.

“Thousands of taxpayers write to me and I am happy that a major section of the country is gearing up to free the country of the revdi culture,” PM Modi said last year while addressing the griha prawesham (housewarming ceremony) of the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G).

In Karnataka, last month, Congress’ poll promises of free electricity, rations and financial assistance for women and youth worked well in their favour and helped topple the Bommai government. The BJP, which was banking on its promise of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and NRC, ultimately flunked before the freebies of Congress.

As a result, in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP announced it will distribute Rs 1,000 to every woman under the much-hyped financial scheme ‘ladli behna yojana’, despite the prime minister’s big words on ‘revdi culture’. The Congress, on the other hand, hoping to work the magic as it did in Karnataka, announced Rs 1,500 monthly payment to women, in addition to providing gas cylinders at Rs 500.

But it is vital to see the cost of electoral promises and how it transgresses on the economic health of the state. Experts believe that Congress is likely to also face a tough time living up to the guarantees it gave in Karnataka. The Siddaramaiah government may have cleared the implementation of its ‘five promises’ but only time will tell if it is actually able to provide what it promised.

A similar situation is developing in Madhya Pradesh where infighting in BJP is seemingly helping the opposition parties to channel their anti-incumbency strategies. But whether freebies have any real welfare prospects for taxpayers or if they are just futile expenditures, is a question that needs to be constantly debated.