Alwar/Sikar/Jaipur: As Rajasthan votes Saturday, it will also give its verdict on competitive populism in the state. While the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government is banking on its populist schemes to return to power, its principal challenger, the BJP, has also promised a host of freebies.
For instance, while the BJP has promised free scooters to girls after Class 12, the Congress has promised free laptops to first year undergraduate students of government colleges.
ThePrint travelled across Alwar, Sikar and Jaipur last week to get a sense of whether these schemes will translate into votes and help the Congress buck the 30-year trend of the government being voted out every five years in Rajasthan.
In the middle of the day, some workers were gathered at a construction site in Kushalpura village of Sikar, Rajasthan. During their break, they discussed government schemes.
Asked how they were looking at these assembly elections, they all rallied behind Rajendra Pareek, a five-time MLA and former minister contesting on Congress ticket from Sikar assembly seat.
One of the reasons, some of them said, was the government’s free electricity scheme. “Free mil rahi hai, badhiya hai (we are getting it for free, it’s great),” said one, chuckling. Lauding the Rajasthan government’s free health insurance scheme too, he said: “If a poor person falls ill, they get medical treatment without having to pay.”
He was referring to the Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme that offers free medical treatment of up to ₹25 lakh. The incumbent government has promised to increase this cover to ₹50 lakh if it returns to power.
Calling the scheme “India’s best scheme”, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi wrote on X Thursday, “Modi ji, this is called guarantee — to support in times of trouble, to walk shoulder to shoulder.”
चिरंजीवी योजना – ₹50 लाख तक मुफ्त इलाज, भारत की सबसे बेहतरीन योजना!
महात्मा गांधी अस्पताल में लाभार्थी मरीज़ और उनके परिवार खुद इस बात पर मुहर लगा रहे हैं।
मोदी जी, इसे कहते हैं गारंटी – तकलीफ में सहारा बनने, कंधे से कंधा मिला कर चलने की।
देखना हो तो कभी आइए म्हारे राजस्थान! pic.twitter.com/0IPWydMGMu
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 23, 2023
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‘Wrong if for poor?’
Another labourer from the group in Kushalpura had a justification for freebies. “These schemes are absolutely fine. Loans were waived for big businessmen and that is fine. But it is wrong if the beneficiary is a poor person? If he gets free ration for a month, things work out well for him. It’s good for the poor but not so if the beneficiary is someone with money.”
This Independence Day, the state government launched the Annapurna Food Packet Scheme which aims to distribute free food packets to over 1 crore families every month. The packet includes dal, sugar, salt, oil and chilli powder. The PM Garib Kalyan Yojana provides 5 kg of free food grains to poor families each month.
Meanwhile, around 170 kms away, Sanjay Chawri, a farmer in Sarangpura village in Alwar, Sanjay Chawri, talked about the poor quality of these ration kits even as he stressed their need. “There are some people who genuinely need ration. In our village, there are one or two people who have no land and no support. They are unable to earn on their own due to their condition. They should get ration. Jo nichle ke bhi nichle star pe hain, unko milna chahiye (Poorest of the poor should get it),” he said.
‘Only for elections’
However, Chawri wasn’t quite impressed with Gehlot’s free electricity scheme launched a few months ahead of the elections. “What’s the point of free electricity if it doesn’t come only?” he asked, adding, “Muft mein logon ko pangu banaya jaa raha hai. (They are crippling the people in the name of free stuff).”
In June, this year the Gehlot government announced up to 100 units of free electricity for all households. During the budget session this year, it also announced up to 2,000 units of free electricity for farmers.
Four farmers were gathered at a tea stall in Alwar’s Angari village. The owner of the stall was also a farmer. All of them receive free electricity.
One of them said, “If someone is earning, freebies are wrong for him. But for the poor, it’s fine.” Jumping into the conversation, Hamir Meena, the tea stall owner, said, “But the poor are not getting it. It is only coming to those who have money. Those who know documentation and those who know the right people.”
He was also convinced that this scheme would last only till the elections. “As soon as elections are over, free electricity will also end,” he announced.
Banker Jitendra Sharma in Chomu was of the view that freebies are good if only for the poor. “There are few things which are fine if given for free. Like ration. But things such as laptops and bikes are unnecessary. They have no importance in a normal life. Parties give these to only win elections.”
Nikhil Parekh, a student preparing for competitive exams who sat at a tea shop in Chomu’s Purohitan village, thought these elections were favourable for the Congress, and called freebies an election agenda only. “Yes, things should not be free. Only those who really need it should get it for free. Currently, so many things are being given for free…It is just an election agenda that they are giving things for free.”
Shop owner Raghunath Parekh agreed. “Nothing should be free. It should be only to an extent, only for the poor. The rest (is being done) only to gain votes in the election.”
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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