NEW DELHI: In a bid to challenge Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) freebie-driven electoral campaign, the BJP is expected to announce a series of welfare schemes if voted to power in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.
Sources suggest the party is considering offering up to 300 free units of electricity to residents, providing Rs 2,500 monthly allowance under the Ladli Behna Yojana for women, and offering free bus rides for women in the national capital.
The proposed electricity scheme would be an increase of 100 units compared to the 200 units currently provided by the AAP government. In addition, BJP is reportedly planning to extend free electricity up to 500 units for religious places, including temples and Gurdwaras, in an attempt to counter AAP’s Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana, which offers Rs 18,000 per month to priests and religious leaders.
The BJP is also expected to promise free and clean drinking water through pipelines if it comes to power. According to party sources, these announcements could be included in the BJP’s election manifesto.
The BJP’s move aims to counter AAP’s freebie policies, which have been a central feature of its election campaigns. “While AAP has focused its campaign on freebies that may not be sustainable, the BJP’s manifesto will include schemes that can be realistically implemented after forming the government,” a source stated.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his first election rally in Delhi, assured that the BJP would not discontinue any public welfare schemes if it won the elections. However, he added that the party would take steps to eliminate corruption in the implementation of these schemes.
“AAP is spreading lies, claiming that the BJP will stop these welfare schemes. I assure the people of Delhi that no such schemes will be stopped under a BJP government,” the prime minister said.
Meanwhile, Delhi Congress has launched its own set of guarantees, including Rs 2500 per month for women under the “Pyaari Didi Yojana,” and free medical treatment worth up to Rs 25 lakh under the “Jeevan Raksha Yojana” to provid healthcare to Delhi’s residents.
The BJP is making all out efforts to come back to power in Delhi after a gap of over 25 years. The party after 1998 has been kept out of power first by the Congress till 2013 and then by the AAP. The national capital will go to polls on February 5 and votes will be counted on February 8.