Govt starts hunting for populist schemes amid reform push

Officials given the message to look for vote catching schemes

The government’s tryst with economic reform measures may not be enduring as it has already started looking for populist schemes which might help in winning the next Lok Sabha polls, whenever it comes.

With the reality of mercurial support base of Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supporting from outside, the government machinery has been asked to hunt for the ‘vote-catching schemes’.

Officials in the know of the developments indicated that finance ministry and the top planners of the government have already spread the message among the officials to formulate vote catching schemes and come back with them as quickly as possible.

“Don’t wait for the budget. If required, be prepared for announcement of such policies even before the budget. May be sometime in early next year is the underlying idea,” said a finance ministry official on the condition of anonymity.

The example in this regard to follow is the farmer debt waiver scheme announced by the current finance minister P Chidambaram in the earlier stint in 2008, which is being considered as the scheme which won the 2009 Lok Sabha polls for the UPA government.

While the government’s partner TMC pulled out officially from the government today, Chidambaram announced the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme (RGESS) which gives tax benefits to the retail investors.

Officials indicated the finance ministry is now set to work towards the populist measures which the government is eying.