As elections near, BJP returns to Uttar Pradesh for launch of Ujjwala 2.0

PM Modi to launch today the second phase of the Ujjwala scheme, under which 10 million more LPG connections will be provided.

A free cooking gas connection and subsidised refill can go a long way in earning votes. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) knows it well, as it returns to Uttar Pradesh today to dole out the second instalment of a scheme it launched in the state before the 2017 Assembly elections.

Ahead of the 2022 UP Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has again chosen the state for the launch of the second edition of the Prime Minister Ujjwala Scheme. Back in 2016, the first phase of the scheme, under which 80 million people in the country received liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections free of cost, had been launched from UP’s Ballia.

This time, 10 million more LPG connections will be provided across the country under the extended scheme, and UP is expected to account for a large part of these connections. Over 14.7 million families in UP were benefitted under Ujjwala 1.0, which covered nearly half the state’s population, and got these connections by 2019. With 18 per cent connections, UP has the largest share of the scheme, according to data released by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas in June 2019.

According to political experts, the scheme played a big part in the BJP’s big win in the UP Assembly elections in 2017, when the party and its allies won 324 of the state’s 403 seats, in the biggest majority for any coalition in the state since 1980. The launch of Ujjwala 2.0 could be a masterstroke to woo the marginalised population of the state just ahead of the Assembly polls, they said. The first refill and hotplate would be provided free of cost to beneficiaries under the scheme.

Given the scheme's impact in rural India, it was reinforced during the pandemic after the Centre announced last year that three free refills would be given to each Ujjwala scheme beneficiary in the country during the pandemic. The beneficiaries in UP have received a total of 27.1 million free refills in the past year, while the country-wide figure stands at 140 million. The refills are otherwise offered at subsidised rates to beneficiaries across the country.

PM Modi will launch 'Ujjwala 2.0' on Tuesday 10 by handing over new LPG connections at Mahoba through video conferencing. Modi would also interact with beneficiaries of the scheme and address the nation, officials said. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri will be in Mahoba for the launch.

This is the second such initiative by the BJP after the state government started its longest and biggest exercise of distributing free foodgrain to people on August 5. Within just four days, the UP government has distributed free foodgrain to over 113.2 million beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). More than 566,000 tonnes of food grains have been distributed so far.

To make the enrolment process seamless, there will be minimal paperwork. Migrants will not be required to submit ration cards or any address proof; a self-declaration will suffice.

Describing the journey from Ujjwala 1.0 to Ujjwala 2.0, a release from the Prime Minister's Office said that the target during the first scheme was set to provide LPG connections to 50 million women members of below-poverty-line (BPL) households. Subsequently, the scheme was expanded in April 2018 to include women beneficiaries from seven more categories: SC/ST, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Antyodaya Anna Yojan, most backward classes, tea gardens, forest dwellers, and islands. The target was also revised to 80 million LPG connections.

(The writer tweets from the handle @nitinaayog)