Electoral guarantee is back, now parties will have to think about freebies to come to power!

New Delhi: Free electricity, free water, free ration, free bus service… If the buses work then the leaders should forgive the 7 blood of the people before the elections. Due to the passion of capturing power, the political parties have made the focus of Indian politics free. Have turned it towards the mobs. Services provided for free are beneficial for the public and politicians for some time. But its long-term consequences can prove quite fatal. The state may drown in debt due to free schemes. Arranging adequate funds to maintain basic facilities can also become a challenge for governments. The latest example of this has come from Karnataka. The Congress government in Karnataka is currently facing financial crisis. Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge himself scolded the party leaders and the government in a stern tone. Kharge clearly said that promise as much guarantee as you can give. Otherwise the government will go towards bankruptcy. All political parties need to learn a lesson from the example that has emerged from Karnataka regarding ‘free Revadi’.

Why is free talk in discussion?

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has pulled up Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar over his/her remarks regarding review of ‘Shakti’ guarantee in Karnataka. In fact, Shivakumar had recently said that the government will reconsider the ‘Shakti’ scheme as some women have expressed their willingness to pay for travel in government buses. Under this guarantee of the Congress government of the state, women are provided the facility of free bus travel. Kharge had taken a dig at Shivkumar’s statement and said, ‘You have given some guarantees. After seeing them, I also said in Maharashtra that there are 5 guarantees in Karnataka. Now you (Shivkumar) said that you will leave a guarantee. Once again ‘free rewari’ is in discussion in the political circles of the country.

When did the culture of free rewari start?

The trend of freebies in elections is increasing rapidly, which was started by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha. She laid the foundation of this trend by giving away things like free sarees and pressure cookers. Later, the Aam Aadmi Party won the 2015 elections by promising free electricity and water in Delhi. In Kerala also, Left parties won by giving free ration kits.

Free Revari showed its effect here also

The effect of freebies was also visible in the 2021 assembly elections in Kerala. Two years after its defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, the ruling Left Democratic Front won with a thumping majority for the second consecutive time on the promise of providing subsidized rice and free food kits. Aam Aadmi Party also got a huge majority in the Punjab Assembly elections. If voted to power, AAP had promised to provide up to 300 units of free electricity to the people of Punjab and Rs 1,000 per month to every woman aged 18 years and above.

‘…will also waive off ‘increased’ water bills’

Political experts say that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had got a huge number of seats in Delhi due to the scheme to free electricity bills in Delhi. Seeing this, other political parties also started giving importance to the free scheme. Recently, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, in his/her Padyatra, has promised the people of Delhi that he/she will also waive off the ‘increased’ water bills. he/she also claimed that if BJP comes to power in Delhi, it will stop the AAP government’s schemes of free electricity, healthcare, education and bus travel for women. Assembly elections are to be held in Delhi next year.