A slew of poll promises by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan have given the much-needed impetus to the ruling BJP to beat the anti-incumbency factor that saw the Congress dislodge the saffron party in the Assembly elections in 2018. On Sunday, Chouhan announced three major promises to the people of his state ahead of the Assembly polls. These promises, all targeting women voters, are seen as an answer to the promises made by Congress leader Kamal Nath.
On Sunday, Chouhan increased the financial aid provided to women of his state. Under the Ladli Behna scheme, the women of Madhya Pradesh received Rs 1000. CM Chouhan announced that this amount has been increased to Rs 1250. This, the Chief Minister said, was his Raksha Bandhan gift.
Kamal Nath had announced the Nari Samman Yojana as a counter to Chouhan’s scheme. Under this yojana, the party promised Rs 1500 per month to the women of the state. He had announced this yojana in May. Nath said that he could not think that a person could use Raksha Bandhan, a sacred festival, to fulfill their greed of power.
Chouhan also announced more reservation for women in government jobs and police recruitment and a reduced cost for gas cylinders. He also said that poor women of the state will not receive an electricity bill of more than Rs 100. Chouhan has promised that the government will make gas cylinders available at Rs 450 during the month of Sawan and later a system will be evolved in this regard. Congress on the other hand had promised gas cylinders at a reduced rate of Rs 500. Clearly, the BJP made a better promise to the people.
As part of its poll promises, the Congress party has promised free electricity for up to 100 units of consumption and half the bill for consumption up to 200 units. The promises are part of the playbook it had deployed in the elections in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh earlier this year, factors that are believed to have played a key role in the party returning to power in these key states.
The BJP, wary of the impact that the promise of freebies can potentially have in the Hindi -heartland states, is unwilling to leave anything to chance. It has ramped up its attack on the Congress and is countering its promises to voters as assembly elections draw closer. The BJP has so far countered three of the six promises made by the Congress and taken away much of the bite of some of them. Congress is left with very little to engage potential voters.
However, the Congress still has the promise of reverting to the Old Pension Scheme, increment in pension for the disabled and loan waivers to farmers to engage potential supporters.