Covid measures in UP may give a leg-up to BJP ahead of polls

Measures aimed at mitigating the impact of Covid-19 have opened up a new window of opportunity for the Uttar Pradesh government to generate a positive sentiment among the public towards the BJP ahead of the assembly polls next year.

Free ration for the poor hit hard by the Covid second wave and smartphones and tablets for online education are being pursued at a large scale by the state government. CM Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday extended free ration distribution being undertaken under the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana up to March next year and also announced the addition of cooking oil, dal and salt to the relief package as the state approaches assembly polls that are also scheduled to be held in February-March next year amid rising prices pinching voters across the board. The cost will be borne by the state.

Families falling below the poverty line - Antyodaya card bearers and priority households - can avail the extended scheme. The scope of the relief package has also been widened to include 1 kg cooking oil, either refined or mustard, as well as a kg of salt as well as a kg of dal, said the CM.


So far, under the PMGKAY, each unit is entitled to 5 kg of foodgrains and 1 kg of pulses but increase in price of cooking oil seems to be nullifying the relief that the free ration is aimed to bring, ET learnt after speaking to some beneficiaries. Thus, it is failing to generate a positive sentiment for the party ahead of polls.

Retail price of packed mustard oil has increased by more than 43% to touch about ₹187 per kg over the last one year according to the price monitoring cell of the Union department of consumer affairs.

ET had reported in September that with widespread distress and job loss, the free ration was playing a big role in blunting people's resentment towards the government over other issues and some legislators had predicted then too that the government may consider extending it. This is also the scheme with the largest coverage (15 crore), affecting people in the state directly.

By November-end, UP will also distribute tablets and smartphones to students enrolled in various teaching/training programmes like graduation, postgraduation, diploma and skill development. One crore tablets/smartphones will be distributed to poor youth, for which the state will spend ₹3,000 crore.

A big measure to woo the youth of the state that are also of voting age, the idea found its base in the inconvenience caused to students who could not afford smartphones and hence their education suffered during the pandemic.

"The state government is dedicated to providing jobs to youth without discrimination. During Covid-19, we observed the difficulties faced by school- and college-going youth which is why we decided we will distribute smartphones and tablets," Adityanath had said in Sultanpur last week.