Notwithstanding their initial denials and refutes, apprehensions of the critics seem to have come true, and development works are likely to take a hit due to the State Government’s emphasis and the need for allocating funds to implement the five guarantee schemes.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s candid remarks on the government’s helplessness in providing funds for development works in the assembly constituencies show that the administration is caught in a “guarantees vs development” quagmire. That puts the Congress government in a tricky situation ahead of the Lok Sabha polls early next year. While effective implementation of the five guarantees will be the basis on which the Siddaramaiah government’s performance will be assessed, it also cannot afford to ignore development works. That could hit the state’s image and have larger consequences in terms of attracting investments.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has always been a strong votary of welfare economics. Caste-based empowerment through welfare has been the cornerstone of his belief in economic empowerment. But with the pre-poll promises by Congress, social welfare initiatives hit a new high. Financial assistance of Rs 2,000 to the woman head of a household, free power, free travel for women in state corporation buses, financial assistance to unemployed graduates and diploma holders, and an increase in the quantity of rice given under the Anna Bhagya scheme are the five guarantees.
They may have been announced with the belief in social development and women’s empowerment, but it will take a few years to get a real assessment of the effectiveness of such schemes. For now, it has raised questions on the financial prudence, and concern that infrastructure development works will take a hit.
So much so that it seems to have caused some disquiet among the legislators from the ruling party. Many of them were said to have written to the CM asking him to convene a Congress Legislators’ Party (CLP) meeting to discuss better coordination and other issues. In the meeting that was convened subsequently, the CM took the legislators into confidence by assuring them that he would hold district-wise MLAs’ meetings every month, despite his hectic schedule. They were also assured that the works that needed to be implemented urgently will be taken up.
The CM and the Deputy Chief Minister will largely get the credit for the effective implementation of guarantee schemes, but the MLAs will be keen to show what they have done in their constituencies. Not having anything to show as their performance as a representative of that constituency will be a cause for concern for them. Also, in the run-up to the assembly polls, each of them would have made several promises to their voters that they need to fulfill.
The MLAs feeling the pinch due to a lack of funds for development works could affect the party politically. They will be the key players in the Congress’s Lok Sabha poll strategy. The party has set itself an ambitious target of winning 20 out of 28 Lok Sabha seats, a huge jump from its current tally of just one Lok Sabha seat from the state. The Congress Central leadership is scheduled to hold meetings with senior leaders from the party and ministers in New Delhi on August 2 to discuss its Lok Sabha poll strategy. Implementation of guarantees, striking the right balance between providing funds for development and guarantees, ensuring implementation of budget announcements, and countering the BJP’s propaganda are all likely to come up for discussion in the meetings.
For now, the BJP seems to be on a weak footing and it has not been able to decide on the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly and the appointment of the new state president. But the party central leadership cannot afford to ignore Karnataka which has delivered 25 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and is likely to make all efforts to fix the gaps in its state unit. The BJP will be looking to highlight shortcomings in the implementation of the guarantees, lack of adequate emphasis on development, no new big projects or initiatives, and 40% cut in the PM Kisan Samman Yojna that has hit around 48 lakh farmers. In Congress as well as opposition BJP and JDS camps, initial preparations for the LS polls have already started.