Manifesto merchandise

Tamil Nadu's voters need better governance, not gifts

Time was when Tamil Nadu’s voters would handsomely reward their political leaders for getting rice at one rupee a kilo. That simple promise swept the patriarch of the undivided Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Anna Durai, to power less than half a century ago, ending the Congress Party’s two decade reign. It is, perhaps, a measure of the level of Tamil Nadu’s development, of the changing needs or the growing greed of its voters that in place of ‘rice-for-one-rupee-a-kilo’ promise, Tamil Nadu’s contending factions of the original DMK are now vying with one another to offer a variety of gifts to voters rather than focus on governance. Admittedly, Tamil Nadu is one of India’s better administered and more developed states, even if its politics is anachronistic. Moreover, when it comes to corruption and democratic despotism, there isn’t much to choose for the state’s voters between an ageing DMK leader K Karunanidhi and the All India Anna DMK’s (AIADMK) whimsical leader J Jayalalitha. In the absence of a clear cut choice between good and bad, and in the absence of any major voter grievance in a generally well administered state, it appears enticing voters with the promise of more goodies is the only game in town. That the tax-payer will eventually have to cough up the cash has not yet become an issue and does not seem to discourage anyone from making more promises.

The AIADMK’s manifesto promises, among other things, free mixies, grinders and a fan to every woman voter, free laptops for senior school and engineering students and, four sets of uniforms and shoes for school children, 20 kg of free rice every month for all ration card holders, four gm of gold “mangalyam” for brides from poor families and free cable connections to all. There are some sensible promises like providing 20 litres of water daily for all families living below poverty line, three phase connection across the state in four years, free housing of 300 sq. ft, each costing Rs 1.8 lakh to Rs 3 lakh, for families below the poverty line, four free sheep to poor families, 60,000 cows supplied to 6,000 families to develop milk production, loans of up to Rs 10 lakh for women self help groups, four months maternity leave for pregnant women with benefits of Rs 12,000, and Rs 25,000 to poor women as marriage assistance. Not to be left behind, the DMK too has made similar promises, including 35 kg of rice free along with grinder for nearly 16 lakh poor families and laptops to dalit engineering students. The DMK has also promised an increase in old age pension, a free insurance scheme for fishermen, and an increase in the loan limit for SHG (self help group) for women.

Neither party has promised a corruption free government. Is it because no one would take the promise seriously, or because it would not make much of a difference, given the corruption of the voter with such freebies? Clearly, what Tamil Nadu needs is better governance and not more gifts for voters. Unfortunately, a marginalised Congress Party is still unable to make an impact in the state’s political marketplace.