Freebie war in poll bound Goa as BJP, AAP jostle for votes

A freebie war may well set the tone for political campaigning ahead of the 2022 state Assembly polls in Goa.

A little more than a month after Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal announced free 300 units of power as the party's main poll plank during a visit to the state, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday defended his announcement to provide free water to the tune of 16,000 litres per month from September 1.

At a function in Porvorim, a Panaji suburb, Sawant said that allowing domestic consumers to avail of 16,000 litres of tap water free of cost, would in fact reduce water wastage. "We give people what they want. Water is a necessity for people, which is why we are offering 16,000 litres per month free. Two things will happen after this. People will get free water and won't waste water. They will try to stay in the 16,000 bracket. We will require more water, we will be able to give water to more people," Sawant said.

Polls in the state are scheduled to be held in early 2022.

"Some people do not know, the cost per cubic meter is Rs 15 to process raw water. The same water I will be giving free to the tune of 16,000 litres. We were charging Rs 2.15 per cubic meter. We have waived off that, too. My only request is to use only the water which you require. If maximum users keep the usage of water under 16,000 litres, no one will get a bill. It is possible. On average, one person requires 100 litres per day," the Chief Minister also said.

The Aam Aadmi Party has however said that the chief minister's populist announcement was a result of pressure building on the ruling BJP in wake of the promise of free power made by Kejriwal in July.

BJP's top leaders and government ministers had initially ruled out giving any freebie ahead of elections, with Power Minister Nilesh Cabral saying that offering public utilities free of cost to the general public is simply not a practical concept. "There are no free lunches," Cabral had said.

AAP's Goa convenor Rahul Mahambre however said that the Sawant administration's decision to offer potable water free of cost was a jumla.

"First of all, they could have done this after they came to power, not just before elections. Also after Kejriwal made the promise of free power, BJP Ministers scoffed at the idea. Now by announcing free water, the BJP appears to be signing up for the AAP model of governance. They have made this jumla only because of elections," Mahamre said.