UP Voters: Look, Freebies for You

Bangalore: Laptop politics was a point of discussion in the political class during the last Tamil Nadu assembly elections where free laptops for students was the center attraction in the long list of freebies offered by different political parties. Now, as the country witnesses a fierce political battle over the state of Uttar Pradesh, an election result that can decide the fate of even the central government, the culture for shelling out freebies is back again. While it’s an undisputable truth that the practice of offering freebies during elections vitiates the spirit of democracy, political parties do not seem to give democracy a good thought during elections. Here are some of the freebies that the leading political parties in UP has offered in their manifestos.

BJP

Every BPL family in UP will get a cow if voted to power, says the BJP election manifesto which also remembered its old time promise of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. The party offered free laptops for poor students and cycles for girls. Students will be given tablets at 1000 and laptops at 5000. BJP also offered initiatives for inclusive development for Muslim, although it opposed the Muslim sub-quota by Congress and other parties.  The manifesto offered debt waiver up to 1 Lakh for farmers, 24 hour free electricity for farmers and wheat at 2/Kg and rice at 3/kg for BPL card holders.