The United Democratic Front (UDF) election manifesto unveiled on Saturday guaranteed a minimum monthly income of ₹6,000 to Kerala's most impoverished families.
The unconditional cash transfer would reduce income inequality, mitigate starvation and help indigent households escape the worst deprivations of daily life. The scheme would increase spending, spur demand and catalyse the economy, the UDF claimed.
Welfarism seemed to take centre stage in the UDF manifesto. The Opposition attempted to outdo the ruling front by promising a monthly welfare pension of ₹3,000 instead of the ₹2,500 guaranteed by the Left Democratic Front (LDF).
The UDF also appeared to cast its net far and wide to draw voters of various income brackets, social background, employment status, age and gender. It seemed social welfare and subsidies trumped economic constraints in the UDF manifesto. The UDF's 2016 election promise to prohibit liquor found no notable mention in the 2021 manifesto.
The UDF targeted homemakers aged between 40 and 60 by vowing to transfer them ₹2,000 monthly if not already covered by the minimum income guarantee scheme.
The UDF fixed the minimum daily wage at ₹700. It also proposed a law to recover 5.5 lakh acres from illegal owners and accord the land to landless tribal people and Dalits. The front sought to attract the support of households earning more than ₹1 lakh a year by assuring non-priority ration cardholders 5 kg of free rice every month.
At a stroke, the UDF had sought to eclipse the free ration and food kits supplied by the LDF government during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The UDF manifesto put immense stock in subsidised health care. It would underwrite the medical expenses of cancer, heart, kidney, organ transplant and haemophilia patients and promised ‘no bill hospitals’ in the public health sector.
One lakh unemployed youth would get two-wheelers at half the market price. An ex gratia one-time payment of ₹5,000 is on the cards for autorickshaw and taxi drivers. Free housing for five-lakh low-income families and maternity allowance for SC/ST mothers are other highlights.
The UDF matched LDF by promising a ₹250 minimum price for rubber. It would write-off agriculture loans up to ₹2 lakh. It vowed to subsidise public transport and self-owned autorickshaw and taxi fuel to make travel more affordable.
On the political front, the UDF promised a law to defend the Sabarimala faith. It promised to stop backdoor appointments, make it mandatory for government departments to report vacancies to the Public Service Commission and preserve the high seas for traditional fishers.
