Your revdi or mine? Anywhere, anytime

 

The other day, our household help was complaining about how corrupt and unfair the political system and governance system are; how everything was skewed in favour of the rich and against the downtrodden, etc.. When I asked her why then she kept voting for Didi, she said Didi was giving her Lakshmir Bhandar. In fact, the scheme has been so popular that when the feisty MP Mahua Moitra was campaigning in the rural areas of her constituency in the last Parliamentary elections, the first question she used to ask the poor women was whether they were receiving the Lakshmir Bhandar money and used to be greeted by grateful affirmatives. 

I thought this must be a huge amount or some high-value goods. Turned out, it was just Rs. 1,000 per month (Rs. 1,200 for SC/ST) for women not employed by government and certain other bodies or retired from them drawing a pension. Yet, this has been a real game changer for the political fortunes, earning sustained loyalty from millions of womenfolk. This shows how desperately deprived and marginalised a large section of our society is. It led me to think a little about the so-called “revdis.” 

On July 16, 2022, speaking in Kaitheri in Jalaun district after inaugurating the Bundelkhand Expressway, Prime Minister Modi derisively said, “Today in our country, attempts are being made to collect votes by distributing free revdis (sweets). This revdi culture is very dangerous for the development of the country. People of the country, especially the youth, need to be careful of this revdi culture. People of revdi culture will not build expressways, airports or defence corridors for you. People of revdi culture feel that by distributing free revdis to people, they can buy them. Together we need to defeat this thinking. Revdi culture needs to be removed from the country’s politics.” 

Yet, the Prime Minister has now become a zealous champion of endless revdis and the revdis have improved the political fortunes of his party. 

In the last Madhya Pradesh elections, facing huge anti-incumbency, everyone predicted that BJP was down for the count. Even BJP leaders were making rueful statements. Then came the ladli bahna scheme on 28.1.23 and the party romped home with a landslide in the November 2023 elections. Again, the amount was a paltry Rs. 1,000 per month. The elections were fought on the promise of increasing it to Rs. 1,250 initially and Rs. 3,000 eventually. 

In Haryana, the BJP announced Rs 2,100 monthly allowance for women, scooty for girl students, free dialysis for patients and two lakh government jobs. For Maharashtra, as many as 146 freebies were announced by the NDA. It was widely reported that the Maharashtra election dates (due with Haryana elections held on 5.10.24) were deferred so that the beneficiaries of Ladki Bahin Yojana (announced on 28.6.24, launched on 17.8.24) would’ve received two instalments of the money before the elections eventually held on 20.11.24. 

In Delhi, the AAP’s freebies list included raising Mahila Samman Yojana from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,100 per month and a Sanjeevani scheme to provide free health care to those above 60 years. The Congress promised Rs 8,500 for skill training of the unemployed, Rs 2,500 as pyaari didi yojana and Rs 25 lakh insurance under Jeevan Raksha Yojana. BJP promised Rs 21,000 for pregnant women, Rs 2,500 per month to women voters, and a Rs 500 subsidy for LPG cylinders in Delhi. 

During the last UP elections, some of the news portals were predicting a rout for Yogi. However, I saw an interview of some rural people where they were saying how they were happy that they were getting ration twice a day, “subah ka Modi se, aur sham ka Yogi se.” I presume, they were referring to the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) and the state scheme. Then I thought, no, Yogi has a much better chance than the news portals were predicting. 

It is true that the single purpose behind this competitive revdi-politics is grabbing the votes. However, is it such a bad thing? 

As long as these schemes are announced before the Model Code of Conduct kicks in, they don’t fall foul of any law or rules. Plus, there is a problem of what exactly is a revdi or freebie. Free bus ride to women is as much of a freebie as reduction in corporate tax – the latter can indirectly influence vote purchase by adding to the coffers of a political party. Cooking gas subsidy which Amitabh Bachchan took one and a half years to forego is as much of a revdi as free cash transfer without any reciprocity or charge. While reduction in corporate tax might have some positive impact on investment (this is dubious, to say the least), free cash will augment human capital and also increase consumption expenditure, leading to demand side stimulus. Even revival of Old Pension Scheme is a freebie. There is an argument for ‘merit’ goods alone but it’s difficult to know which is not a merit good if the externalities are factored in. 

On the other hand, much of these so-called revdis are actually going to sections of society whose voices are invisible in policy making – women, backwards, marginalized, and so on. This adds to their much needed social protection which is not available to them but for these democratic negotiations of vote-bank politics. 

Estimates indicate that the current state expenditure on freebies ranges between 0.1% and 2.7% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). This is not so bad when we consider that India’s social protection spending is merely 4 % of the GDP compared to Brazil’s 17 % and China’s 7.9 %. Even this small amount of freebies have led to not only some sense of a security net amongst the marginalised, it has resulted in substantive human capital growth. 

A recent report by SBI Research showers praise on the Ladli Bahna scheme, saying it has impacted the behavioural habit of marginalised women in such a way that beneficiaries have increased their spending at merchant outlets by 3.5 times. 

So, is there a problem with revdis? Yes, there is. These revdis are actually government schemes paid for by the taxpayer. Using them for brand promotion of a political leader by putting her/ his photos on ration bags or entitlement certificates is actually illegal and unethical. All promotion of these schemes should be informative only and should be devoid of any photograph of anyone. Also if the election process (e.g., polling date) is manipulated around the revdis, that delegitimizes the democratic exercise. 

My considered opinion is, the general public is interested in only three things: micro benefits, prices and crime/law & order situation. What the governments should do is to encourage revdis but prevent financial profligacy by mandating budget deficits both at the Centre and the states to be below 3 % of the national and state GDPs through legislation. This is one legitimate role that can be given to the President and the Governors for strict enforcement. [Despite all the aspersions on AAP’s freebies, Delhi reported a fiscal surplus (0.4% of GSDP) in 2022-23.] Meanwhile, all this will go haywire if the crime and law and order situation is not robust. So, that’s another argument for earnestly implementing the police reforms as mandated by the Supreme Court order of 2006. 

So net, net? Your revdi or mine? Anywhere, any time. Conditions apply.