The Congress is at it again. The Andhra Pradesh (AP) unit of the Congress party has announced the tried-and-tested formula of a plethora of financial incentives and welfare schemes ahead of the May 13, A.P state and national elections. They are banking on the appeal of similar “guarantees” marketed ahead of last year’s Karnataka and Telangana state elections, which brought them electoral success.
The state party president is Y S Sharmila, sister of current A.P chief minister, Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy who is the leader of the Andhra-based YSRCP party, a breakaway faction of the Congress party. In a certain sense, both similar-minded, welfarist parties headed by a brother and sister, children of a former Andhra chief minister and lifelong Congress party man, presents a curious case of Congress Vs Congress.
Does the A.P Congress party stand a reasonable chance? The Congress is under unique circumstances in Andhra Pradesh and finds itself on shaky ground even ten years after the larger state of Andhra Pradesh was divided into a residual Andhra and a new Telangana.
It was the Congress government at the Centre that facilitated the division of the larger state, in collusion with Telangana’s BRS party (former TRS). The Congress party’s decision was not in line with the specially appointed Srikrishna Commission’s findings and its recommendations yet the party went ahead with the division of the state, hoping to reap rich political dividends in partnership with the BRS party.
However, the division ended up being an acrimonious matter and didn’t go as smoothly as the Congress would have liked. The people of the Andhra regions of Coastal Andhra/ Uttara Andhra and Rayalaseema put up a prolonged agitation, which in the end, didn’t work in their favour – the people of the Andhra region were left with no capital and fewer industries, companies and job opportunities, both private and public, after the Congress gave in to the demands of K Chandrasekhar Rao’s BRS party and allocated Hyderabad city to the new Telangana state instead of an arrangement (shared union territory status) where the largest city’s revenue would be shared between the two Telugu states.
The Andhra region was left with no capital city and administrative infrastructure and further more, it was faced with a budget deficit because of the loss of revenue from the largest city in undivided Andhra Pradesh, its capital – Hyderabad.
Given the unflattering history, what factors work against the Congress party in A.P?
– People of the Andhra region have not yet forgotten the Congress party’s betrayal and favoritism after having enjoyed decades of unquestioned loyalty from the state.
– The YSRCP party is a breakaway faction of the Congress party. Hence, there is direct competition from the same politicians that understand the typical Congress mindset. The YSRCP is the Congress alternative to its traditional vote bank of the SC and minority votebanks.
– The Congress and YSRCP would be cannibalizing each other voters from the same segments of their vote-bank population. They would end up splitting a fixed vote share between them. Neither may benefit significantly… unless they decide to merge, which is unlikely in 2024.
– Although, both parties target and appeal to the same voter segments and benefit from collaborating or merging with each other, this is unlikely, because of the deep, personal differences between the brother-sister duo, the children of former chief minster of united Andhra, Y S Rajasekhar Reddy. Yet, in the highly opportunistic world of politics….who knows!
– Y S Sharmila representing the Congress, is attempting to compete with the “navaratnalu” (nine welfare schemes) promised by her brother, YS Jagan Reddy who rode to power on the back of these schemes back in 2019, wresting power from the then TDP government.
The Congress party’s recently released election manifesto has promised the following “nine guarantees” in a clear attempt to resonate with the YSRCP’S “navaratnalu” nine welfare schemes. They are:
– Special category status for Andhra Pradesh for 10 years, if the Congress manages to form the government at the Centre.
* Every poor family to receive around Rs 8500 monthly/ Rs. 1 lakh annually, under a women’s “Mahila Mahalakshmi” scheme.
* All farmers eligible for a loan waiver of up to Rs.2 lakhs.
* New MSP (minimum support price) rates for farmers, assuring lesser risk and more profitability in the agricultural sector.
* Assurance to labourers for a minimum wage scheme of Rs.400/day under an “Employment Guarantee” scheme.
* Free education to eligible sections of society, from KG (kindergarten/ preschool) all the way to PG (post graduation).
* Recruitment for around 2.25 lakh A.P state government job vacancies, currently lying vacant under the YSRCP government.
* Free housing scheme with financial asisstance of up to Rs.5 lakhs for every poor or homeless family.
* Guaranteed senior citizen pension of Rs.4,000/month and Rs.6,000 for all disabled People, per eligibility criteria.
The below-mentioned schemes of the YSRCP would provide for a comparison between the “nine” welfarist schemes of the brother and sister duo, both of whom, hail from a life-long Congress culture of greater government control, welfarist schemes without parallel development, greater caste-based reservations and minority appeasement.
Ahead of the 2024 state elections, the YSRCP’s “navaratnalu” nine schemes are a ramped-up, super charged, version of its 2019 schemes, which reportedly met with below-average success, according to pre-poll surveys. They are:
– Rs 50,000 financial assistance to farmers and Rs.12,500 to every farming family, in addition to zero-interest loans as well as free borewells. Cold storage facilities and food processing units were promised in every constituency.
– Fee reimbursement scheme for all students in addition to an allowance of Rs 20,000/ annum.
– All medical treatments of above Rs 1,000 to be paid by the government, for all eligible people holding the “Arogyasree” government health card, regardless of the location, size and speciality of the hospital, anywhere in the state.
– Fast track completion of all irrigation projects including the Polavaram project, promising an end to
water-availability woes to people across many districts.
– A ban on sale of alcohol, implemented in three stages.
– Rs 15,000 annual deposits to mothers in all eligible families, to asisst with one child’s education.
– Outstanding loans taken from women’s co-operative societies with interest would be waived and zero-interest loans will be made available to support women from SC, ST, BC and minority communities, aged above 45.
– A promise to build 25 lakh free homes for the poor.
– Pension age to be reduced from 65 to 60 years with each senior citizen aged above 60, given Rs 2,000/ month and all physically challenged people, to be given a pension of Rs 3,000 per month.
It is noteworthy that a significant percentage of the population considered eligible for the YSRCP’s welfare schemes were reported to be dissatisfied with the disbursement of the various free schemes. All schemes were based on caste and religion, leaving some communities and people in the un-reserved EWS (economically weaker section) category feeling left out.
Andhra Pradesh’s NDA alliance consisting of the TDP (Telugu Desam Party), the JSP (Jana Sena Party) and the BJP are trying to focus on a combination of a few welfare schemes to compete with the YSFCP’s package….along with a promise for overall development of the state as well as increased job opportunities. Their appeal includes the BJP’s likely win in 2024 at the Central level, thus putting Andhra’s NDA coalition in an advantage to bargain for more funding, development and infrastructure for the state, from a friendly central government.
Will the voters of Andhra Pradesh lean towards the tall promises of free subsidies and welfare incentives offered by the YSRCP and the Congress… or would they prefer the NDA alliance’s combination of welfare initiatives along with a guarantee for the development of the state on all fronts and increased job opportunities?
Shivani is a freelance writer from Vijayawada.
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