aThree major political parties challenging the LL high octane Delhi parliamentary elections have announced a barrage of freebies or subsidies to voters’ courts. The AAM AADMI Party (AAP), which leads the incumbent government, added £2,100 a month for all women, £21,000 for pregnant women, and £500 for those from poor backgrounds. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) follows the lawsuit, offering women in low-income families 2,500 a month, a one-time financial grant of £15,000 to competitive exam candidates, solar energy initiative, “free power,” We provide “free electricity” through The Solar Energy’s initiative. PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana.
This shows an identifiable change in the BJP stance given Prime Minister Narendra Modi denounces the previous “revdi” culture. In a 2022 post on X, he warned that such policies are “very dangerous to the development of the country.”
Meanwhile, the council has joined the fight, pledging women with a monthly salary of £2,500 and health insurance coverage of up to £25. Naturally, these announcements rekindled debate over whether such a scheme is a populist measure to shake up voters.
Election SOPS or welfare politics?
The central challenge of this discussion is the lack of clear consensus on what constitutes a prize. Some argue that giveaways amount to bribery and discourages voters from making informed choices. But others argue that such stories take away their agency and voters in welfare politics.
“What a person perceives as a prize may be considered welfare by others. For example, one segment of society might view free transport as an unfair concession, but another part constitutes important welfare measures. Ironically, those who criticize free transport as a subsidy often benefit from the availability of cheap labor. Dr. KK Kailash, professor at the Faculty of Political Science at Hyderabad University, told Hindu.
The National Food Security Act, enacted by the Congress-led Uniform Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2013, transformed major welfare schemes such as lunch, public distribution systems and child development services into legal qualifications. Data released by the Centre shows that beneficiaries of the law include 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population, totaling around 800 million.
A 2023 survey by the Global Think Tank Centre for Financial Inclusion (CFI) found that a carefully designed cash transfer programme will not only provide direct funding to women on behalf of women and empower women, but also provide intimate partners It has been found to help reduce the risk of violence. .
But where do you draw the lines? According to Dr. Kailash, welfare clauses differ from giveaways, but continue to have human abilities and freedom, in line with the “competent approach” to development proposed by Nobel Prize-winning Sen. Amartia. It strengthens immunity and allows individuals to live a dignified life. In contrast, poor health not only causes personal suffering, but also burdens public resources by increasing the demand for hospitals and treatment. Investing in nutrition from an early age brings great long-term benefits for both individuals and society,” he explained.
The cash transfer scheme has recently discovered successful elections in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana, cementing its role as a staple of elections. However, Dr. Kailash warned that such a scheme stimulates market activity by increasing consumer spending, but ultimately does not create real economic opportunities. “These schemes do not lead to investments in important public goods such as human capital or healthcare or education. Instead, they provide state exemptions to promote sustainable growth for the poor. It serves as a quick fix to make up,” he said.
Financial results
Give-driven politics poses a serious financial threat, especially to critical debt national governments. The RBI’s latest report on state finances highlights how such measures have led to a sharp increase in subsidy spending. It also urges the nation to streamline these subsidies to prevent critical investments from being driven away.
Radhika Pandey, an associate professor at the National Institute of Fiscal Policy (NIPFP), warned that increasing dependence on giveaways will inevitably deepen the state’s revenue deficit.
“Delhi reported a revenue surplus of 14,457 crores in 2022-23. From 2023 to 24, the figure was budgeted at a significantly lower 5,769 crores, with a revised estimate of an additional 13.9%. It reflects a decline. From 2024-25, the projected surplus is only 3,231 crores, a sharp drop of 35% from the previous year’s revised estimate. The financial burden of the prize As the state is growing, revenue accounts are likely to fall into the deficit unless the state expands its revenue generation significantly,” she told Hindus.
She further noted that a wide range of giveaways are promised, including cash transfers for women, pensions for seniors, and subsidies’ electricity. In the long term, this could reduce higher taxes and lower consumption among the middle class.
The realm of justice?
In August 2022, the Supreme Court introduced three judge benches to a series of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of election giveaways. The main petition filed by BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyai argued that such populist measures undermine the constitutional guarantees of free and fair elections.
During the lawsuit, the bench led by former Supreme Court Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana even proposed to form a panel of experts to seek recommendations from key stakeholders. This indicated a significant deviation from the court’s previous position. S. Subramaniam Balajiv. In the government of Tamil Nadu (2013), the Supreme Court ruled that such issues fall within the realm of legislative policy and exceeds judicial scrutiny. He further emphasized that such spending could not be considered a “corruption act” nor characterized as being “corruption acts” as it sought to advance the directive principles of national policy.
However, despite some pleas for the urgent list of petitions, there have been no effective hearings on the assignment since November 23, 2023.
In particular, the Delhi High Court earlier this week has concluded that the petition filed by the President of the nonprofit association Sashakt Samaj, the SNdingra, against the prize promised to the BJP, AAP. He refused an emergency hearing. Congress ahead of Congress’ polls.
According to senior advocates at Sanjay Hedge, there is little that courts can do to distinguish welfare measures from populist SOPs and pre-election guiding. “It is a parliamentary privilege to suppress unchecked competitive populism. The judiciary should not intervene in the choices made between voters and elected representatives,” he said. He spoke to.
Published – February 7, 2025 09:03 PM IST
