Populism pays

SECOND EDIT

A combination of good performance and favourable circumstances has ensured the return of the Congress to power in Andhra Pradesh with a decisive mandate, belying predictions of the formation of a hung assembly. Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who has been sworn in chief minister for a second term, can justifiably take credit for the party’s victory. He fought off any possible anti-incumbency sentiment with the goodwill generated among the people with the government’s many schemes targetted at the rural poor, like the Rs 2 a kg rice scheme, free power for farmers and loans for women self-help groups. The spending on rural infrastructure helped the government gain a pro-poor and pro-development image. Many of these schemes have been criticised as populist and defective at the implementation level. But they took the government to the people and in the socio-economic conditions prevailing in the state, their relevance and usefulness cannot be disputed.

 The Congress also gained from the splitting of the Opposition votes, much as it happened in Tamil Nadu. The grand alliance of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), and the Left lacked credibility. The ambiguous stance of the TDP, which had always opposed the formation of a separate state of Telangana, and its alliance with the TRS smacked of opportunism. The appeal of the Telangana issue seems to have faded in the region, as seen by the fact that the TRS managed to win only 2 Lok Sabha and 10 assembly seats there while the Congress secured 12 Lok Sabha and 50 assembly seats. The Praja Rajyam Party of superstar Chiranjeevi ate into the Opposition votes and this helped the Congress in many constituencies. The unimpressive performance of Chiranjeevi shows that in an environment dominated by issues, charisma alone cannot take any leader too far.

While the Congress can be proud of its performance in the elections it cannot be complacent. The chief minister announced an extension of some welfare schemes after he was sworn in. But there is need for more substantial work to reduce poverty and ensure balanced development.  He will also have to address the issue of corruption and inefficiency that dogs the state administration. The fact that the Congress fared better in the Lok Sabha election than in the assembly polls shows the discriminating nature of the people. That should also serve as a warning to the state government.