New Delhi: The first decision made by the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh was to extend the state government's scheme of providing free ration by three more months. According to BJP sources, the government is likely to continue the scheme till 2024. It is evident that the BJP has started preparing its ration and governance agenda for the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
BJP insiders said that an internal survey of the party revealed that the beneficiaries of the free ration scheme which began during the Covid-19 pandemic have supported the Bharatiya Janata Party in the elections. Despite the negative atmosphere, the scheme resulted in rich electoral gains for the party and this is the reason why the scheme was modified to provide free ration to people twice a month in the State.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, five kg of food grains are being given in different states till March 2022. But in Uttar Pradesh, the free ration scheme has been extended till May 2022 for 15 crore beneficiaries. BJP promised to increase this scheme even before the elections and if sources are to be believed, the ration scheme is being extended by the Yogi government only in view of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. It seems that with an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BJP thinks that the free rations scheme had a positive impact on their performance in the last Assembly elections.
According to BJP sources, by extending the scheme in Uttar Pradesh till 2024, the party is aiming to further increase its influence on voters belonging to the economically weaker section in the State. Preparations are also being made to increase the number of beneficiaries. Issues such as unemployment, inflation, farmers' agitation, stray cattle, and the Lakhimpur Kheri incident could have adversely affected BJP's performance in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but BJP overcame them with various sops.
In fact, ahead of the assembly elections, the Yogi government announced that it would extend the free ration distribution scheme in the state till March 2022. The Opposition was unable to come up with any counter-narrative. Prime Minister Narendra Modi directly instructed MPs, MLAs, and officers to properly implement the scheme and the State government also emphasized the distribution of free ration in a streamlined manner.
Senior advocate and political analyst Desh Ratan Nigam said that these two slogans of ration and good governance were raised during the entire election campaign. He said that apart from the State government's performance in maintaining law and order, the free distribution of ration was also a big achievement as it enabled the State government to cater to the needs of people who lost their livelihood during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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