It’s only words, but words are all that political parties have (at least legally) to woo the voters once the election process is set in motion. In this a ruling party is at a distinct disadvantage: it is judged not by promises but by its performance in government. Ahead of the May 16 Assembly election, the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu is intent on overcoming the trust deficit by >offering voters everything from free power and subsidised scooters to unlimited wi-fi and interest-free loans . The party delayed releasing its election manifesto until just 10 days before polling day not so much because it needed time to gauge what people wanted, but because it needed to better the offers made in all other manifestos, particularly that of its principal rival, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Word for word, scheme for scheme, freebie for freebie, the AIADMK manifesto is an improvement on >that of the DMK , which itself is in good measure copied from the programmes of the Pattali Makkal Katchi. Ever since the DMK made a promise in its 2006 manifesto to hand out colour television sets to all, and proceeded to deliver on it after being voted to power, freebies have been an integral part of the manifestos of all parties in serious contention for power in the State. In 2011, the AIADMK promised fans, mixers and grinders, and promptly gave them away over the next five years.
Subsidies and freebies are not necessarily bad; they can play an important role in social welfare if aligned to government policy. Tamil Nadu, under the AIADMK’s first Chief Minister, M.G. Ramachandran, was the pioneer in introducing the noon-meal scheme in schools, which increased enrolment and reduced dropout rates. Ms. Jayalalithaa, during her earlier term between 2001 and 2006, gave away free bicycles to schoolgirls, which again slowed down the alarming dropout rate among girls in schools in rural areas. The free laptop scheme in her current term allowed students greater access to higher education and opened up avenues to enhance their employment skills in the competitive knowledge economy. Free rice under the Public Distribution System was another major initiative that eased the lives of people living below the poverty line. But many of the freebies are not targeted to reach only the poorer sections. TVs and fans were giveaways meant as little more than post-election gifts-for-votes at state expense, and they diverted resources from essential services and development programmes. Competitive populism has the result of hindering important social welfare measures, and investment in infrastructure development over the long term. Ms. Jayalalithaa must be hoping her manifesto will have the effect of helping her party in the home stretch before the election. As both she and her main rival, M. Karunanidhi, know, keeping promises is the easy part. Doing so without affecting investment in critical areas such as health, education and infrastructure, is what is truly difficult.
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Clarification on the noon-meal scheme in schools in Tamil Nadu: Mid-day meal for school children in India goes back to 1925 as a scheme for poor children in the Madras Municipal Corporation School. Kamaraj introduced it in some of the State-run schools beyond Chennai. It was MGR who expanded it in 1982 to all the government schools in the State. Before 1982, there was no comprehensive coverage of school children.
