Ahead of upcoming polls, freebie season returns to India

Political parties in South India had begun the freebies culture in the 1960s.

The election season is on and with that comes freebie season. Distributing freebies has become almost indistinguishable from election campaigns across the country.  From free televisions to public transport, most parties go all out to woo voters. There have been allegations against various leaders for distributing cash for votes too.

According to Sanjay Kumar, Professor at Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), the term “freebies” pertains to materials that are not essential. Explaining why the freebies culture had been part of the Indian elections, Kumar told Moneycontrol, “The political parties have figured the correlation between doling out freebies and reaching out to voters,” he said.

However, Kumar said the “culture is bad for the health of electoral democracy” since these measures are “not sustainable in the long run”.  “For the candidates, this is a passage to win. They will eventually take it back in some form from your or my pocket,” he said.

The Supreme Court on October 6, issued a notice to the Centre, Madhya Pradesh government, Rajasthan government and Election Commission on a PIL on alleged distribution of cash and other freebies at the taxpayers' expense. Whether it is Shivraj Chouhan announcing Ladli Behna Yojana or Congress promising “five guarantees”, the parties announcing one after another freebies or cash incentive schemes in Madhya Pradesh to lure voters. It is the same in other poll-bound states too.

Also read: Strong fiscal rules must bind states to curtail expenditures on freebies

The dominance of freebies led Prime Minister Narendra Modi to coin the term “revdi culture” that he frequently used in his speeches to target past governments who “failed” to deliver on fundamental necessities. Modi has repeatedly warned taxpayers of the dangerous trend of parties “buying people” by distributing free goodies.

However, according to political strategist Amitabh Tiwari, freebies do not make that much of a significant impact.

“People who fight polls are not poor. If one candidate can give Rs 1,000, the other party candidate can also give it. So, when it is freebies versus freebies it does not really make that kind of an impact on the voter’s choice. It gets diluted,” he said.

According to The Financial Express, the political parties in South India had begun the freebies culture in the 1960s by offering free or heavily subsidised rice. Later the strategy was copied across the nation.