Bidding is on in Punjab in the run up to February 2022 Assembly polls

 

 Punjab witnessing competitive populism from Rs 100 to Rs. 1000

 

Ground Zero

Jagtar Singh

 

Bidding for votes has started in Punjab.

Punjab has entered the phase when the competing political formations start influencing the choices by offering what has come to be known as freebies that otherwise is the  measure to provide immediate relief especially to the people on the margins and it is this very section that exhibits more enthusiasm on the polling day.

Earlier, such offers used to be made mainly in the manifestos.

This state slated to go to the polls in February 2022 during the last 48 hours witnessed two ‘Aam’ chief ministers trying to outdo each other at several levels going even by the pictures that the newspapers in the region have flashed today. This included their interactions with auto drivers too.

They addressed their respective audiences on November 22  separated by about 70 kms.

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi  who is impressing the people, who for several years had been witness to the phenomenon of ‘arrogant governance’, with his Aam Aadmi approach, was in Ludhiana, the first rally in which he for the first time shared stage with state party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu to give the impression that now all is well in otherwise the faction ridden ruling party.

The irritants are getting phased out but slowly.

Channi made the appeasing announcement of capping the rates for cable TV to Rs 100.

It was the poll promise of the Congress in 2017 to wipe out what is described as the cable mafia.

The cable network has been monopolised in the region by one company. The monopolisation has the logical consequence of exerting influence by way of preferential treatment.

However, the rates are not controlled by any state or the central government but by The Telecom Regularity Authority of India (TRAI) set up under The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 to “regulate telecom services including fixation/revision of tariffs for telecom services which were earlier vested in the central government.” (TRAI official website).

As per the TRAI, the minimum fee is Rs 130 plus GST. However, this group includes mostly the free  channels. Majority of the entertainment and many of the prominent news channels are paid channels for which the consumer has to pay extra.

The basic issue is that fixing of the rates does not touch the core issue that the Congress had raised in its 2017 manifesto. There is now no time to address that dimension. Moreover, this is not in the domain of the state governments.

Channi is in a fast forward mode to clear the backlog of non-governance as the election can be announced any time beginning December. It is matter of days now and as such, the window with new Congress chief minister is too small.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is the leader during recent times who gave the nomenclature of Aam Aadmi and he projects himself as the real Aam Aadmi.

It is pertinent to mention that the Shiromani Akali Dal, the party with legacy of struggles, used to identify itself with the Aam Aadmi earlier.

He announced at his Moga conclave that women above 18 years of age would get pension at the rate of Rs 1000 in case his party formed the government.

His first ‘guarantee’ of 300 units of free power stands neutralised by Channi who has already extended this relief to the consumers. Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal too had offered 400 units.

Going by the history of such concessions, the first major one was free power to the farm sector to run tubewells and that decision was taken by the Akali Dal government formed in 1997.

The issue in Punjab is that of revival of the economy and empowerment of the people. Long term pragmatic strategy rooted in the socia-political economy of the state is the need of the time.

Social security can cover all such freebies.

At times, these freebies damage the economy in the long run.

But then Punjab scene is already turning dramatic with the stakeholders trying to outcompete each other.

The bidding is likely to higher and higher and it is the voter who would have the field day in the short run. The Congress had promised even moon to the people in 2017 but the situation on the ground has not witnessed much of qualitative change.