Jan Suraaj Spokesperson and one of the key architects of the Party, Pavan Verma, levelled serious allegations that funds from the World Bank meant for some other project were diverted for the Bihar Assembly elections by the central government and distributed to women voters in the state.
Mundane as it may seem, this is in some ways a metaphor for the challenges facing the nation, argue Arvind Subramanian and Devesh Kapur in their new book, A Sixth Of Humanity.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday deprecated the practice of announcing freebies prior to elections, and said people were not willing to work as they were getting free ration and money.
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
'...the electoral playing field is tilted significantly in its favour.'
'We gave too many freebies to Afghanistan, but we came up with a plan today and implemented it more effectively.'
Coming down heavily on the Maharashtra government, the apex court castigated it saying the state has huge amount to "waste on freebies" but does not have money to compensate to a private party which lost land to it "illegally".
The Bihar chief minister had a point to prove in the latest assembly elections, which were held amid speculations of a fatigue factor, if not downright anti-incumbency, made worse by rumours of his indifferent health.
The NDA in Bihar, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, strategically countered the Mahagathbandan's moves by implementing similar policies and announcements, effectively neutralising the MGB campaign promises and maintaining their political advantage.
Following their landslide victory in the Bihar assembly polls, NDA leaders have begun discussions on forming a new government. Key coalition partners visited Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's residence, expressing support for his continued leadership. The article also touches on political developments within the RJD and reactions to the election results.
Former poll strategist Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj expressed disappointment over its poll debacle in the Bihar assembly elections, attributing the NDA's victory to cash transfers to women.
Left to its machinations, the BJP would have loved to cut Nitish down to size, but it can't afford to do so as the JD-U is in alliance with the BJP at the Centre, and cannot form a government on its own in Bihar. For now, both need each other: Nitish for legitimacy, the BJP for numbers, points out Ramesh Menon.
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
'These children possess catastrophically low birth weights -- often 1.4 kgs or less. Such extremely low birth weight results in profoundly compromised neo-natal immunity.' 'The escalation to 97 deaths in three months precipitated contemporary attention precisely because this magnitude concentrates the humanitarian emergency, rendering it impossible for the administrative machinery to ignore.'
'...all we were looking for was a leg spinner and Rishad has done very well'
The PIL also seeks a direction to the Election Commission to invoke its powers to freeze the election symbols and cancel the registration of such political parties.
The Supreme Court of India expressed concerns about the long-term sustainability of providing free rations to migrant workers, emphasizing the need for job creation and capacity building instead. The court's remarks came during a hearing on the ongoing issue of providing relief to migrant workers, a matter that gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic. The court questioned the government's reliance on freebies and stressed the importance of creating opportunities for migrant workers to become self-sufficient. The debate highlighted the challenges of balancing immediate relief with long-term economic solutions for vulnerable populations.
'The prime minister's comment on 'revdi culture' was welcome. But I am disappointed he did not follow up on that.' 'All political parties, including the BJP, have been guilty of this.' 'Now, Modi's guarantees, the Congress's 'nyay' path and both ruling and Opposition parties are vying with each other for freebies in my home state Andhra Pradesh.'
The situation raises concerns about whether the promised freebies will once again push the state into a revenue deficit.
Jaiswal gears up for SA Test with big hundred but Mumbai get only 1 point
Another populist decision of the government was the announcement of an unemployment allowance for the youth: Rs 1,000 per month for two years for graduates and those who have completed class 12 but remain unemployed.
If women voters are mobilised in big numbers to the voting booths on November 6 and 11 by the Nitish Kumar-led NDA, then it will be quite difficult for the Tejashwi Yadav-led Mahagathbandhan to defeat the incumbent government, points out Sheela Bhatt.
Ahead of February's Delhi assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party national Convener Arvind Kejriwal has launched the Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojana and the Sanjeevani Yojanaa to win over voters in the national capital.
Star Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and H S Prannoy advanced to the second round of women's and men's singles competitions respectively with straight-game wins at the BWF World Championships in Paris on Tuesday.
Kejriwal described the BJP's election manifesto as "dangerous for the country".
Freebies being doled out by the Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan governments ahead of the assembly polls Friday came under scrutiny by the Supreme Court which sought responses from the two states, the Centre and the Election Commission on a PIL alleging misuse of public money.
The Congress party has pledged to provide free LPG cylinders, ration kits, and electricity up to 300 units to Delhi residents if elected to power. The announcement was made by Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, along with AICC Delhi in-charge Qazi Nizamuddin and Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav. This is the latest in a series of promises made by the Congress for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections. Earlier, the party had promised a monthly monetary grant of Rs 2,500 to women, free health insurance of up to Rs 25 lakh, and Rs 8,500 every month to educated unemployed youths in Delhi for one year.
To help the country emerge as a true welfare State, political parties must put the country's interests first before strategising to win elections and short-term goals, argues Ramesh Menon.
'No one can ignore PK's prediction about Nitish Kumar's party.'
Blame the voter, who invariably chooses the promise of hand-outs today in preference to a vague promise of, say, better schools tomorrow. Getting the Supreme Court to issue an edict, or Parliament to pass a law, is no solution, observes T N Ninan.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari emphasizes the importance of truthfulness and confidence in politics, citing Balasaheb Thackeray as an example. He also addresses funding in his department and praises from Chief Minister Fadnavis.
Populism gains momentum during election periods, and this trend is evident in at least four states: Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said political parties that come to power on pre-poll promises of freebies should pay for those through budgetary provisions. Citing the example of free electricity being promised in many states, the finance minister said the burden for the freebies should not be thrust upon the power discoms or gencos. "If a promise has been made to the people at the time of the election, you are looking at a quid pro quo. "You should be, as a responsible party, assume after you come to power, make a provision in the budget for it," Sitharaman said, speaking at the FE Best Bank Awards event.
The rising goods and services tax (GST) and personal income-tax collections may bolster the Narendra Modi government's ability to announce new schemes or enhance existing ones.
The remarks by Naidu in his last address as the country's Vice President came even as Telangana's ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi RS said the welfare of poorer sections of society is not a freebie and that welfare measures taken by governments should continue.
'The EC should not have let the initiative go into the hands of the political leadership. By allowing this to happen, they have opened a Pandora's box.'
Why did Karnataka's economic prosperity fail to influence the nature of electoral promises made by political parties in the run-up to the assembly elections? asks A K Bhattacharya.
Political parties and individuals cannot be prevented from making poll promises aimed at fulfilling the constitutional mandate and the term 'freebie' should not be confused with genuine welfare measures, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday.
As some BJP pollsters concede, the Modi leadership's sweeping success in elections 2019, especially across central India, owed not to Hindutva ideology, but to welfare schemes, all of them borrowed from Tamil Nadu, reveals N Sathiya Moorthy.
England were comfortably placed at 225 for two at stumps after bowling out India for 358 on the second day of the fourth Test in Manchester on Thursday.
