Can scheme be a game-changer in Odisha polls?

Ruling BJD wants to make the scheme the face of its campaign ahead of upcoming polls

When one logs on to the official website of the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation and food supply ministry, a large banner of the rice at Re 1 a kg scheme welcomes visitors. The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) wants to make the scheme the face of its campaign ahead of upcoming polls, as a similar scheme last time had ensured a thumping victory for the party.

The cheap rice scheme, announced on Republic Day this year by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, assures all Below Poverty Line (BPL) families 25 kg rice a month at Re 1 a kilo. The new plan replaced the earlier scheme of a kg of rice for Rs 2, implemented in 2008 and which reaped resounding success for the ruling party in the 2009 elections.

The cheap rice scheme is actually an extended version of the Antyodaya Anna Yojna scheme of the central government, which has provisions of 35 kg rice for BPL families. The state government, after adding some money from its own resources, is providing 25 kg rice to 4.2 million BPL and above poverty line families, instead of 3.3 million families targeted for the Central government-sponsored scheme.

Though the government has been criticised for its diversion of fund, it is sticking to its plan as it still hopes the scheme would bring it a major victory in the 2014 polls.