- It is not rocket science to easily comprehend how the Indian politicians and the parties go about strategizing to impress upon the electorate with anything and everything that ensures attention-grabbing. As it stands, our political leaders are constantly looking for ways to consolidate their carefully cultivated vote banks. As a result, when elections approach, local concerns trump fiscal prudence and the nation’s economic well-being. This is the time when political parties go ballistic, looking for ways and mean to come up with appealing propositions to impress the electorate. Of course, we know what is in a political party’s election manifesto. It will be brimming with guarantees, incentives, promises, reassurances, and freebies.
PC: Piyush Srivastava
- No surprises there as Indians are quite familiar with the generously quoted election-related promises, freebies, and sops. Did someone mention fiscal prudence? What is that, my dear? Surprisingly, the majority of us don’t mind waiting for those sops to be thrown around whenever election dates are announced. The question here is whether offering those perks, freebies, and incentives has become the norm, and if so, is there a way to stop them from being thrown around casually? Yes, the answer is yes. Indeed, these have become the norm, and any political party that fails to announce will only be playing catch-up with others. It’s a classic catch-22 situation for political parties, who can’t help but follow the tried-and-true trend.
- Not so long ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about the pitfalls of freebie culture enveloping the country by urging the politicians to desist from pursuing the same. However, if the recently concluded Karnataka state assembly elections are any indication, the urgings have not reached the intended audience. In the run-up to the Karnataka elections, the Congress party promised five guarantees. And those assurances undoubtedly played a significant role in the Grand Old Party’s impressive victory, which returned to power with a majority. Why would the electorate ignore the promise of free electricity, free transportation, free rice, and a sizable stipend for women and the educated unemployed? For sure, we’d all be overjoyed.
PC: PTI
- Now that the Congress party has tasted success in Karnataka, the guarantee template is bound to play out in some of the other crucial state assembly elections lined up in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana. Even the most important of them all, the general election scheduled for May 2024, will see all of the major political parties embrace the guarantee schemes in the hope of winning the crucial contest. Make no mistake: it will not be surprising if the BJP announces poll perks to entice voters. Given this, it is safe to assume that the freebie culture will remain fully entrenched even as our political leaders and think tanks devise more enticing schemes to project themselves as relevant.
