BJP’s success lies not just in Hindutva but also in their welfare schemes. Their welfare schemes have been working well on the ground because of the technology which has now been at its peak thereby helping in the reduction of leakage.
Direct Cash Transfer despite some flaws pointed out by scholars are still much better than the old distribution regime. One must also not overlook the importance of their organisation working very hard on the grassroots making sure people get the benefits of these welfare schemes.
Chhutbhaiya Netas (Small Netas) ensure that bureaucratic culture does not impede the efficiency and effectiveness of the welfare schemes. BJP has cracked the code of tapping people’s imagination. As Yogendra Yadav says in his article in the Print on UP elections that “beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder and so is the deprivation or poverty”.
BJP is ensuring that those things which are directly capturing the imagination are ensured to people simultaneously from the backdoor pushing them into deeper vicious circles of economic marginalisation—toilets, cylinders, houses and now working on providing free water to village people.
One may criticise these policies, especially cylinders. They are of no use as the price of refuelling it is skyrocketing. But the presence of the cylinder captures the imagination. Some villagers even some in urban think that prices will come down and they will afford to use these cylinders again.
Toilets are now becoming handy for elders who can’t go out due to their ill health, this everyday captures their imagination. Just think if they are able to provide free water to villagers and it is going to save a lot of females from going out to fetch water.
Opposition parties must focus specifically on telling these people that high inflation, unemployment and cutting various subsidies for them is indirectly affecting them deeply. In other words, it is a transaction for these meagre welfare schemes rather than asking the solid and constitutional question of the state’s responsibility towards the marginalised.
The State did not shoulder the responsibility during the pandemic and even their financial package is meagre as compared to capitalist countries. There was a debate in the U.S.A. that taxing the super-rich is an option to help the masses but in India, the marginalised were provided only free rations.