In the battle of freebies, politicians are pulling out all the stops to win over voters. From K. Kamaraj, who is remembered more for his “parkalam” (let’s wait) than for the free education he offered in the state of Madras in the fifties, to Nitish Kumar's bicycles for schoolgirls in Bihar, freebies have become as essential to Indian elections as chai stalls. But in this high-stakes game of giveaways, who will emerge as the true champion? In one corner, we have the BJP, offering a modest 5kg of free rice or wheat per person per month. In the other corner, the Congress is upping the ante with a promise to double the grain handout to a whopping 10kg. That's enough to feed a small army, or at least a very hungry family of four for a month.
But hold onto your dhotis and sarees, friends, because Rahul Gandhi is here to shake things up. Not content with just grains, he's promising cold, hard cash. Yes, you heard it right. If the INDIAlliance comes to power on June 4, one lucky woman from each poor family will receive a payment of Rs 1 lakh. It's like winning the lottery, but with a political twist. Of course, these freebies may not seem as extravagant as the promise of Rs 15 lakh per person that the BJP made in the 2014 election. The money was to be obtained from Swiss banks where it was stashed away. By the way, can anyone really eat 10kg of rice in a month? And will handing out cash to select families really solve poverty? Who knows, but one thing's for sure: Indian politics has never been more entertaining. So grab your roasted groundnuts and settle in for the ultimate showdown of freebies vs freebies.
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