Revdi Raj of Politics Builds Electoral Citadel
A public meeting of AAP in Delhi Image credit AAP Delhi
BJP Pivots Freebies as Lead Electoral Punch
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, January 18: In 2014, the people queued up at the LPG dealers’ shops to fill forms to give up the subsidy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrival on the national scene in 2014 saw him persuading the people to give up subsidies.
Within five years, over one crore people gave up their LPG subsidies. “As on 06.02.2019, nearly 1.04 crore LPG consumers have voluntarily surrendered their LPG subsidy under ‘GiveItUp’ campaign,” said then Union Minister for Petroleum Dharmendra Pradhan in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Jagat Prakash Nadda on Friday released the ‘Sankalpa Patra (Manifesto)’ of the party. “The BJP government in Delhi, once formed, will provide LPG cylinders at ₹500. The city government will also give LPG cylinders free on occasions of Holi and Diwali,” said Nadda.
Modi to give lessons against ‘Revdi politics’ to chief secretaries
In the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly elections, Modi had launched scathing attacks on the Congress for ‘Revdi’ politics. The Congress in the poll manifesto had promised LPG cylinders at ₹500, as well as cash payouts to women and unemployed.
Politics of freebies yesterday was given a fresh ammo, in New Delhi and Mumbai, by the leading lights of the BJP. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis approved transfer of ₹3690 crore for the January instalment to be transferred to the bank accounts of women in the age group of 21 to 65 years under the ‘Mukhyamantri Ladki Baheen Yojna’.
The monthly cash payout is in range of ₹1500-2500. The state government has budgeted ₹3690 crores for the month of January at the lower band of the scheme. At the upper band, the scheme is inviting scorns of economists for the ₹68,000 crore annual cost.
“In Delhi, when our government is formed, the very first decision of the Cabinet will be to approve the Mahila Samriddhi Yojna under which the women will get monthly financial support of ₹2500,” Nadda said at a press conference.
In addition, Nadda said the women in Delhi will also get an additional support of ₹21000 each year along with six nutritional packets. Besides, all the subsidy schemes currently being run by the city government led by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will remain functional, added Nadda.
Revdi reward: Floundering Punjab, Andhra Pradesh fiscal health
The Census 2011 had estimated over 34 lakh households in Delhi with average size of five. If two women beneficiaries are found eligible for the scheme per 2011 Census as the 2021 decadenal exercise is yet to be undertaken, the cost of BJP’s women cash handouts may be a minimum ₹15000 crores.
Women in Delhi are assured of minimum of ₹2500 monthly bank credits. The BJP and the AAP have committed to ₹2500 per month direct benefit transfer. The Congress is promising ₹500 extra that is ₹3000 per month for women in Delhi.
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