April-May 2021, it was elections in my home state of Tamil Nadu. I have always been a little too inquisitive in knowing the election promises that the Dravidian parties come out it. Each would try to outdo the other with their exorbitant promises. Some of the promises included reduction in milk price, subsidy for LPG, petrol and gas, Rs. 1000/1500 per month for all homemakers, education loan waivers, free cylinders. Wow the list goes on.
According to me, these promises are made under the pretext of commitment to inclusive development and addressing the needs of marginalized communities in Tamil Nadu. But to me the actual intent behind offering freebies is often to garner support and be popular. Are these sustainable in the longer run? Once these schemes are implemented, the one who reviews this will be seen as the villian. Let us look at some issues that I got with these popular poll promises.
Impact on Voter Behavior
The distribution of freebies can highly influence voter behavior. As humans many of us tend to look at short term gains and get swayed. Unfortunately, this leads to a situation where electoral decisions are driven by the allure of immediate rewards rather than a comprehensive assessment of a party’s governance agenda. The vision is so high level and full of promises that certainly cannot be met.
Example: The current government promised free bus rides for women, cut in petrol diesel prices and lpg subsidy, 1000 RS to all homemakers. Free bus rides for women was implemented only on limited bus services. Petrol/diesel/lpg subsidy has not even been discussed. 1000 RS to all home-makers became 1000 Rs to eligible homemakers(Terms and Conditions apply*). I do not want to get into liquor ban promise for it is the only thing filling the government treasury.
Long-Term Economic Consequences
While freebies may contribute to electoral victories, they often come at the cost of long-term economic health. As mentioned above, the parties competing to outdo each other in offering free goods or services contributes to financial strain, impacting the state’s ability to invest in sustainable development.
Example: Let us take the example of Rs 1000 per household for the homemakers. As of 2011, there are 3,60,09,055 women in Tamil Nadu. Let us make 10% of them eligible, which will make it ~36,00,000. Multiply this by 1000 it accounts to 360,00,00,000 per month or 4321,08,66,000 (Approximately 4000 crores). From where is the state going to generate the funds for this? Ding!!! power tariff hike, milk price hike and property tax hike? Also, there are no updates on the liquor free state as promised by the DMK government.
Challenges for Governance and Policy Implementation
The focus on freebies in election campaigns can create challenges for effective governance. Policymaking may be influenced by the need to fulfill election promises rather than addressing the broader needs of the society. This can lead to a situation where the implementation of well-thought-out policies takes a back seat to the immediate fulfillment of populist pledges.
Example: Chennai faced massive flooding in 2015 and 8 years since despite the government’s claims of spending more than 4000 crores on storm water drains, Chennai was still under water. Had there been some vision and some honesty, it would not take 8 years to fix this mess. We are talking about a state’s capital here which makes me worried about the rural parts which gets neglected most of the times.
Well we do not advocate for complete removal of freebies, freebies like laptops to Government school students enables the kids to enrich their knowledge. Farmers market enables them to sell the goods they produce at a reasonable price. Free quality school education and quality healthcare should be our baseline. Instead of free cable connections or television which goes nonfunctional in a few months, provide the people with some good infrastructure that will enable to them to make an earning and live life healthy.
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