Bevy of big-ticket projects, Rs 2K dole irk opposition

The Rs 2,000 dole announced to Below Poverty Line Families (BPL) and the Rs 6,000 per farm family rolled out by the BJP-led Centre has only refreshed public and opposition’s memory of the Rs 2,000 flood relief announced by former chief minister J Jayalalithaa and distributed ahead of the 2006 Assembly elections.

Despite riding on an unpopularity wave triggered by TESMA, ESMA and anti-conversion bill, which was later revoked, the AIADMK had managed to win 61 seats, mainly nine seats in Chennai, a DMK bastion then.

Understandably, the just launched financial assistance to BPL has evoked serious concern among the opposition. Principal opposition party DMK has appealed to the EC to ‘restrict’ the distribution of Rs 2,000 by AIADMK to prevent inducement of voters, for such big-ticket schemes had swung elections in their favour in the past.

For instance, farm loan waiver of the UPA-I, a replication of nearly Rs 7,000 crore cooperative farm loan waiver of the previous DMK regime, was a determiner in the 2009 Parliamentary polls, which the DMK-Congress combine had managed to win, withstanding the pro-Tamil heat of Eelam supporters.

The same DMK had gained from a similar big-ticket scheme, namely, free rice and free colour TV scheme in 2006, as did Jayalalithaa with free scooter and free-gold for thaali project in 2016. Only they were done ahead of an Assembly poll and the promises were made in the poll manifesto then.

Not surprisingly, the BPL dole may not be the only vote getter. A busy Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday flew all the way down to the city to launch the pension scheme for unorganised workers. 

Her cabinet colleague Piyush Goyal, who has been visiting the city on weekly and bi-weekly basis for brokering electoral alliance with AIADMK and allies, rushed to the city to lay the foundation stone for Dharmapuri-Morappur new line jointly with ally leader Anbumani Ramadoss who has been bragging about it as his achievement as an MP since a fortnight.

As if that were not enough, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be paying a second visit to the state in a few days to dedicate government projects, especially road and railway electrification works to the people.

Wary of the impact the nick of time project inaugurations could have on polls, state Congress president KS Alagiri on Tuesday said that there could be nothing atrocious than money being distributed from public exchequer instead of AIADMK party fund for votes. 

However, he exuded confidence that the people would not fall for the attractive announcements of the government and teach a lesson to the AIADMK and BJP in the LS and Assembly bypolls.

A few AIADMK Ministers like RB Udhayakumar and propaganda wing leader Vaigai Selvam only got on the nerves of the opposition by publicly declaring that the dole would fetch them votes.

Udhayakumar had even appealed to voters in a function down south to not forget the Rs 3,000 (including Pongal bonus) paid by the AIADMK while casting votes.