Designed by: Mohsin Shaikh
Produced by: Basudha Das
The Congress on Thursday named Siddaramaiah as the new CM of Karnataka and DK Shivakumar as his deputy, bringing an end to power struggle in the state
Congress party's big victory over its rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka comes with liabilities. The new Congress government will have to dole out Rs 62,000 crore a year to fulfil its pre-poll promises
Congress promised to offer - 200 units of free electricity (Gruha Jyoti) - 10 kg of free rice per head (Anna Bhagya) - Rs 2,000 monthly allowance to woman head of the family (Gruha Lakshmi) - Rs 3,000 monthly ‘assistance’ to unemployed youth (YuvaNidhi) - Rs 1,500 to diploma-holders for two years (YuvaNidhi) - Free bus ride for women (Shakti)
As per reports, the Congress government under Siddaramaiah might have to pay up around Rs 62,000 crore per annum
According to estimates, the cost of the freebies will be close to the fiscal deficit in FY23. In Karnataka's FY24 Budget, fiscal deficit was expected to be Rs 60,581 crore, which is 2.6% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP)
Congress also promised the following benefits - 500 litres of tax-free diesel every year for deep-sea fishing - Rs 6,000 to all marine fishermen as a lean period allowance during the fishing holiday - It also promised to purchase cow dung at Rs 3 per kg & establish compost/manure centres in villages
Though Karnataka’s outgoing BJP government presented a revenue surplus budget in 2023, its overall liabilities touched Rs 5.6 lakh crore as per the latest budget. The new government is estimated to borrow another Rs 1.7 lakh crore in three years to meet these promises
The Congress has also promised to provide 10 lakh jobs and to fill 2.5 lakh vacancies across government departments, which will further put pressure on state's exchequer
Congress registered an emphatic victory defeating the ruling BJP in the results of the May 10 Karnataka Assembly elections by winning 135 seats
The freebies have become a major issue in most elections after PM Narendra Narendra Modi termed them as “revdi” culture, which was not good for the economy