New Delhi: It has been six months since the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) – comprising the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Jana Sena Party (JSP), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – won a landslide victory in the Andhra Pradesh assembly elections, securing 151 out of 175 seats. The Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) was reduced to just 11 seats, falling below the one-tenth threshold required to be recognised as the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly.
During its high pitch campaign leading up to the election, the alliance made serious allegations against the incumbent government, including financial mismanagement, widespread corruption, suppression of democracy, and even human trafficking of women through ward and village volunteers.
Since the alliance has completed six months in power it is important to analyse if it has managed to deliver on its major promises. While some may argue that six months is too short a period to access newly elected governments, it seems to be a precedent considering the TDP released something akin to this in the form of a report card in December 2019, six months after the YSRCP came to power.
Now, even after being in power for six months, the alliance government has been relentless in blaming the previous government for all the ills in the state. While one can understand this compulsion for political parties to be in constant campaign mode, whether they are in power or not – a feature of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) governments since the advent of Narendra Modi on the national scene – merely blaming a party which has been routed would do little to solve the problem.
Moreover, a key criticism of the previous YSRCP government was its focus on distributing money through Direct Benefit Transfers (DBTs) for welfare schemes, which reportedly cost the state exchequer around Rs 50,000 crore annually, while neglecting revenue generation, which led to severe state debt. The alliance claimed this approach was making Andhra Pradesh follow Sri Lanka’s path to financial crisis.
Acknowledging that governments cannot do away with welfare, TDP national president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu reassured the people that he knew how to generate wealth given his track record. In fact, this was given as one of the reasons for joining the NDA so that this “double-engine” would mean a windfall of funds from the Union government.
To this end, the alliance introduced its welfare initiative called super six, as part of its poll manifesto. Many have estimated that implementing these promises would cost the exchequer at least Rs 1.25 lakh crore annually.
Interestingly, during the release event of the manifesto, BJP state coordinator Sidharth Nath Singh, who was present on stage, refused to lend a hand – literally – even after Naidu requested him to pose for the photographers. So whether the BJP is accountable for these promises seems to be unclear.
Super six
Let’s examine the promises made as part of the super six. The first is free bus travel for women on Road Transport Corporation (RTC) buses, a scheme similar to those in neighbouring Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. While the transport minister announced at the end of June that they would study the implementation in other states before rolling it out, no money has been allocated for this in the budget. The free bus rides for women are estimated to cost the state Rs 6 crore per day, potentially reducing the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation’s (APSRTC’s) income by 40%.
The second promise is creating 20 lakh jobs or providing an allowance of Rs 3,000 per month to each unemployed youth. While the government has neither paid nor budgeted for this allowance, it has taken steps toward job creation. Notably, it has delayed releasing the notification for a mega District Selection Committee (DSC) that would fill 16,347 teaching posts – a commitment unfulfilled by the previous government.
IT minister and Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh announced that TCS would bring 10,000 jobs to Vizag with their new operations. The State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) has approved proposals to attract investments worth Rs 85,000 crore, potentially creating 33,966 jobs. Additionally, the state cabinet has introduced six policies to boost industrial development and job creation, with emphasis on MSMEs, supporting their one family, one entrepreneur initiative.
The third promise is the Aadabidda Nidhi scheme, which would provide a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 to women aged 18 and above. However, no official announcement has been made about this cash transfer scheme. When rumors about its implementation spread, women rushed to post offices in Ongole district to open savings accounts and link them to their Aadhaar cards, prompting the social welfare minister to issue an appeal.
The fourth promise is providing three LPG cylinders per year to low-income households under the Deepam-2 scheme. While there has been some confusion regarding identifying eligible beneficiaries, the cabinet has already sanctioned Rs 895 crore towards the scheme, which would cost a total of Rs 2,684 crore. The scheme will be available in three specific periods in a year, from April to July, August to November, and December to March. In these periods, the government would fully reimburse the cost of one LPG cylinder each to eligible beneficiaries.
Also read: Fact-Check: Has the Chandrababu Government Abolished Waqf in Andhra Pradesh?
However, by next June, which would mark a full year of the alliance government’s tenure, only one cylinder would effectively be reimbursed. This means that the scheme will be fully implemented for only four years. Since booking requires returning the empty cylinder, and gas can only be booked during specific time periods, there is potential for considerable confusion in fully availing this scheme.
The fifth promise is an annual assistance of Rs 20,000 to each farmer under the Annadata Sukhibhava scheme. While no money has been disbursed to beneficiaries through DBT, the cabinet has allocated Rs 4,500 crore for this purpose.
Finally, the sixth promise is financial support through ‘Thalliki Vandanam’– Rs 15,000 per child for mothers of school-going children. This scheme is essentially a modified version of ‘Amma Vodi’ launched by the previous YSRCP government. While the old scheme provided Rs 15,000 per mother, the current one promises Rs 15,000 for each child.
This promise gained attention when Naidu, during an election campaign, quipped that women should have more children to receive more money under the scheme. This promise faces particular scrutiny since it builds upon a flagship programme of the previous YSRCP government. Though no funds have been disbursed yet, the government has allocated Rs 5,387 crore in the budget. With the academic year having started in June, there is considerable anticipation surrounding this scheme.
