Since January, the Congress party has announced a raft of pre-poll promises in Karnataka to address voters’ worries about rising prices, at a time when an economic slowdown has hit the livelihoods of many, and end its stint in the Opposition.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has anchored his party’s campaign around a slew of sops such as 200 units of electricity, free of cost, to every household under the Gruha Jyoti Yojane; Rs 2,000 per month to woman head of every household under the Gruha Lakshmi Yojane; free 10kg rice every month for people below poverty line (BPL) under the Anna Bhagya scheme, Rs 3,000 every month to unemployed youth with graduation degrees for two years and also provide Rs 1,500 every month as an allowance to those young people with a diploma and unemployed in the state under the Yuva Nidhi scheme.
On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi announced free public bus travel for all women, a promise that Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) CM Basavaraj Bommai said had already been fulfilled by his government with provisions for the same made in the 2023-24 state budget.
“As soon as the Congress government is formed, on the first day and (according to the) fifth promise, all women of Karnataka will be able to travel for free in public transport buses,” Rahul Gandhi said, adding, “The money that your (BJP) people stole, 40 per cent of that was taken from the women of Karnataka. That is your work. Our work is to give back the money to Karnataka’s women,” Rahul Gandhi announced in the district of Dakshina Kannada.
The Gandhi scion also announced Rs 10 lakh insurance cover for fishermen, Rs one lakh interest-free loan to fisherwomen and Rs 25 subsidy per litre of diesel up to a maximum of 500 litres per day during an interaction with members of the fishing community at Kapu in Udupi district.
“Fish population is decreasing, operation cost is going up resulting in increase in fish price. That’s why we want to help you and offer you some relief,” the former Congress president said. “We will do three things for you: Rs 10 lakh insurance cover for fishermen, Rs one lakh interest-free loan to fisherwomen and a subsidy of Rs 25 per litre of diesel up to 500 litres diesel a day,” Gandhi said.
“All these assurances will be implemented in the first cabinet meeting of the next government,” he said, adding that these are not empty promises, but the party will begin to act on them from the first day.
Gandhi stated that the incumbent BJP government in the state was not one elected by the people and that crores of rupees were spent by the party to “buy” MLAs. “The government is not elected by you, but was bought by the BJP with money power. This is the truth known to all in Karnataka.” Even BJP MLAs were now saying that the chief minister’s post is for sale for Rs 2,500 crore, he added, as quoted by news agency PTI.
While the BJP and the Congress have not yet released a manifesto, the Janata Dal (Secular) released one late Thursday.
In a bid to checkmate the Congress party, “Janata Pranalike” (People’s Manifesto) of the JD(S) promises to restore 4% quota for Muslims, to “throw out” Amul and to save Nandini brand calling it Kannadiga’s identity, to bring in a law reserving jobs for Kannadigas in the private sector, to provide free higher education for economically-weaker students and more prominence to Kannada, as a step against the saffron party’s perceived Hindi-imposition..
In the high-stakes political battle between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress and JD-S, it’s interesting to note that no party has got a clear majority since 1999, except for in 2013 when the Congress won 122 of 224 assembly seats following a split in the BJP.
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a minor player and a new entrant in the state’s electoral politics, has also released its manifesto with ten poll promises, including 300 units of free power each month, 33% reservation to women in government, and 80% reservation to locals in jobs if voted to power.
However, these promises have irked the ruling BJP, which claims that the freebies will “drain the public exchequer.”
But, Karnataka voters spoilt for choice are eagerly waiting to see what the BJP will offer them.
For the electors, the big question is whether the saffron party in power in the state will join the race and extend the carrot of freebies to win over voters or take a different path