Promising a journey to the moon at election time may not have serious administrative and legal complications. There is no way to enforce what is promised in the seasonal festival of democracy. Such promises are meant to be broken. Legal enforceability of such promises has been rejected by the courts. We are still waiting for the Rs 15 lakh promised in 2014!
Cash, gadgets, food packets, sarees and gas stoves prior to coming into force of election code of conduct is deeply ingrained as a pre- election traditions.(not mentioning regular festival-time goodies) Distribution of gadgets like colour TVs, laptops, Mixers, grinders, washing machines, etc, or free trips to Shirdi/Vailankanni are welcome as that normally chips into the ill-gotten wealth. When promised through manifestoes and enforced by elected governments, sometimes it strikes at the very roots of good governance and accountability. State finances come under stress. People’s misery cannot be solved by such gimmicks at all times. The election time freebies both pre and post elections have failed to deal with societal problems.
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An election manifesto is an instrument through which the electorate sees political parties’ agendas for governance for the future. People can make a rational and informed choices based upon the goals set. Indira Gandhi stormed into power in 1971 with the slogan of ‘Garibhi hatao’. The ‘India shining’ campaign did not work for Vajpayee. The promise of ‘achche din’ did wonders for Narendra Modi.
When party manifestoes are designed to help uplift the poor or promise to bring polices and laws to reduce poverty or empower to target the beneficiaries like poor widows, poor farmers, poor children or the BPL communities – there could be a clear justification in a social welfarism. At a time when the two waves of the Covid-19 pandemic devastated the country due to the collapse of our health infrastructure – any party promising to ensure ‘right to health’ under proper schemes and assurance on regulation of private health-care to protect rights of patients is certainly welcome. Making education and even higher education affordable and promising infrastructure is need of the hour. Providing essential services like water, electricity and affordable housing is responsibility of an elected government in a welfare state.
In Goa, saving what is left of it – promise to protect the environment by blocking the three linear projects and by deleting sec 16-B from the TCP act or a proper land use assurance can find place. The roadmap for resumption of mining with safeguards to ecology or new tourism proposal and may be a time bound policy on casinos so as to clear the Mandovi is required. How to make Goa a land of opportunities to tackle unemployment and emigration is the need of the hour.
The subsidised food through Amma canteens may claim credit for a second term for AIADMK in 2016. The AAP‘s victory in the last Delhi assembly poles is credited to free water and electricity schemes. The welfare measures played major role in 2019 general elections and 2021 west Bengal elections. Now Goa and Punjab gets the promise of free electricity, in case AAP is voted to power. The Goa and Punjab governments scored one-upmanship by bettering free water and lowering of electricity tariff respectively from this year itself. Ruling parties have that advantage of misusing power at election time. If the opposition assures unemployment doles, the government can create posts just before the polls.
The last Lok Sabha elections the ruling and the opposition parties competed in offering freebies in cash incentives. Freebies called handouts, doles, sops or incentives have brought a new culture in Competitive politics which play havoc with administration as revenue generated through taxes meant for welfare for the people is fritted away in meeting the commitments contained in the manifestos.
A Madras HC judge commented “if one political party offers to cook food, another is ready to cook and feed”. Despite the ill effects, generally such assurances find some rationale in social welfarism. Some well thought out schemes have been beneficial. The midday meal scheme for children, cycles for girl-students in Bihar, MNREGA had salutary impact on the targeted beneficiaries. They neither had their birth in election promises nor have they made the targeted beneficiaries lazy and irresponsible.
Promising freebies at election time may be morally or ethically unjustified. Mostly the benefits are short lived and not sustainable in the long run. But the Supreme Court refused to rule it to be a corrupt practice. The highest court holds it to be an allurement to the electorate. Allurement which disturbs the level playing field tinkering with the purity of the election process shakes the foundation of free and fair elections and democracy itself in the long run.
Now we have promise of religious pilgrimages through tirth yatras for all. The Government in power bettered it by a temple-run for senior citizens in this December itself. Such an open embrace for religious pilgrimages through government schemes may not be much of a surprise in election season. But coming from an activist who entered politics to change it, it is clear that activism was only a facade. A facebook post “we have a government which is taking the whole of Goa for a ride. Stop asking for votes in the name of religion.” Summed up the mood of the State, known for its diversity and plural polity.
The promise of religious pilgrimages is a clear perversion of electoral promises targeted towards gullible and credulous voters. It hoodwinks them by exploiting their mindset and controlling their thought process. That also takes the voter greediness to a new level – certainly a new low. The election commission must step in to reverse this trend.
(The writer is a practising advocate, senior faculty in law and political analyst)
