The Congress' guarantees were announced during the Vijaya Bheri meeting held at Tukkuguda on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
These guarantees cover a broad spectrum of citizens, encompassing a wide range of benefits, from enhanced pensions to free bus services for women, extending pension benefits to farmers, and providing free electricity to all residents. (Supplied)
Buoyed by the success of its Karnataka model, the Congress in Telangana has taken its tried-and-tested formula to the next level: The party made six guarantees to the electorate ahead of the Assembly polls.
While in Karnataka each guarantee assured the implementation of one scheme, The Congress has come up with six umbrella guarantees for poll-bound Telangana, each with multiple promises of schemes tailormade to target specific sections of society.
The Congress pledged to implement the six schemes — if it came to power — at its Vijaya Bheri meeting held at Tukkuguda on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Sunday, 17 September.
The party had given five guarantees during the run-up to the 10 May Karnataka Assembly elections and has implemented four of them ever since it rode to power with a comfortable majority.
The guarantees made to Telangana cover a broad spectrum of citizens, encompassing a wide range of benefits, from enhanced pensions to free bus rides for women, pension benefits to farmers, and free electricity to all residents.
Former AICC president Sonia Gandhi introduced the first guarantee, “Mahalakshmi”, specifically for women.
Under this assurance, women heads of families will receive ₹2,500 per month, LPG cylinders at ₹500, and free rides on TSRTC buses.
It is pertinent to note here that Telangana has been granting a monthly pension of ₹2,016 to widows and single women.
ఇది సోనియమ్మ హామీ.
మహాలక్ష్మి పథకం ద్వారా మహిళలకు ప్రతీ నెల ₹2500,
కేవలం ₹500 కే వంట గ్యాస్ సిలిండర్,
ఆర్టీసీ బస్సులో మహిళలు ఉచిత ప్రయాణం.ఇది కాంగ్రెస్ హామీ. మేము కర్ణాటకలో చేశాం, తెలంగాణలో కూడా చేసి తీరుతాం. #CongressVijayabheri #VijayaBheri pic.twitter.com/n7YP001bAc
— Telangana Congress (@INCTelangana) September 17, 2023
The second scheme is the “Rythu Bharosa”. Under this guarantee, the Telangana Congress pledged to provide annually ₹15,000 for landowners and tenants; ₹12,000 for agricultural labourers; and a bonus of ₹500 per quintal of paddy.
Notably, the existing “Rythu Bandhu” scheme by the BRS-led Telangana government provides ₹10,000 annually per acre to farmers.
రైతు భరోసా..
ఇది మా రెండో హామీ..ప్రతీ ఏటా ₹15,000 రైతులకు & కౌలు రతులకు.
₹12,000 వ్యవసాయ కూలీలకు.రైతన్న క్షేమం, కాంగ్రెస్ లక్ష్యం. #CongressVijayabheri #VijayaBheri pic.twitter.com/Gmv5QoNLqj
— Telangana Congress (@INCTelangana) September 17, 2023
This guarantee is an adaptation of a programme launched in Karnataka: It promises 200 units of free electricity to all households in the state. However, its details are yet to be disclosed.
Under the Karnataka model, only households consuming up to 200 units per month receive zero bills under the scheme.
కర్ణాటకలో చేశాం.. తెలంగాణలో చేసి తీరుతాం..
ఇది మా హామీ.
గృహ జ్యోతి పథకం ద్వారా ప్రతి కుటుంబానికి ప్రతీ నెల 200 యూనిట్ల ఉచిత విద్యుత్. #CongressVijayabheri #VijayaBheri pic.twitter.com/FjtP5G2H5z
— Telangana Congress (@INCTelangana) September 17, 2023
“Indiramma Indlu” has roots in the previous UPA government’s “Indira Awas Yojana”, subsequently renamed the “Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana”, by the current NDA government.
It assures allocation of residential sites and ₹5 lakh for homeless individuals, besides a 250-square yard plot to all participants of the Telangana movement.
ఇది రాహూల్ గాంధీ గారి హామీ.
ఇది జరగడం ఖాయం.ఇందిరిమ్మ ఇల్లు పథకం ద్వారా ఇల్లు లేని వారికి ఇంటి స్థలం & 5 లక్షల రూపాయలు ఇంటి నిర్మాణం కోసం కాంగ్రెస్ ప్రభుత్వం ఇస్తుందని హామీ. #CongressVijayabheri #VijayaBheri pic.twitter.com/MGh5IlNgIC
— Telangana Congress (@INCTelangana) September 17, 2023
The “Yuva Vikasam” assurance encompasses Vidya Bharosa Cards worth ₹5 lakh for students.
Its specific eligibility criteria and identification processes are yet to be announced.
It also guarantees Telangana International Schools in every mandal of the state.
The “Cheyutha” guarantee, which translates to “helping hands”, draws its inspiration from both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
In Telangana, the government operates the “Asara Pension” scheme, extending financial assistance of ₹2,016 to various groups, including the elderly, widows, the Goud community, individuals with elephantiasis, AIDS patients, the physically disabled, and beedi workers.
Incidentally, Andhra Pradesh has the “YSR Cheyutha” programme, benefitting 23 lakh women aged between 45 and 60 from BC, SC, ST, and minority communities. Over four years, these women would receive a total of ₹75,000, that is ₹18,750 per annum.
The Telangana Congress has pledged to provide a monthly pension of ₹4,000, besides ₹10 lakh Rajiv Arogyasri insurance coverage for senior citizens.
We did it in Karnataka, we will do it in Telangana.
Jai Congress. Jai Telangana. #CongressVijayaBheri#Vijayabheri pic.twitter.com/MVtxoDTplv
— Telangana Congress (@INCTelangana) September 17, 2023
After registering the stellar victory in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly polls, the Congress confidence has doubled in the run-up to the elections to five state assemblies. It is now replicating the Karnataka model in poll-bound Telangana.
In Karnataka, the Congress had announced five poll guarantees: Gruha Jyoti – free electricity up to 200 units; Gruha Lakshmi – financial assistance of ₹2,000 per month to the women heads of families; Shakti Scheme – free travel for women in state-run buses; Anna Bhagya – 10 kgs of free rice to BPL cardholders; and Yuva Nidhi – financial assistance of ₹3,000 and ₹2,000 to the unemployed graduates and diploma holders, respectively.
After coming to power, the Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government has implemented four of the five guarantees and plans to launch Yuva Nidhi either in December 2023 or January 2024.
The Karnataka government has earmarked ₹39,575 crore for the current fiscal year to implement the poll guarantees. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claimed that the government would need around ₹52,000 crore annually to implement all the five guarantees.
The Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka launched the Shakti scheme on 11 June. This free travel for women in state-run buses received an overwhelming response across the state. The government has earmarked ₹2,800 crore for the implementation of the scheme.
Despite failing to procure rice to launch Anna Bhagya, the Congress government inaugurated the scheme on 11 July by announcing ₹170 instead of 5 kg of rice to the BPL cardholders. The state government could not procure rice as the Food Corporation of India discontinued the supply of rice to states at the direction of the Union government.
The government has allocated ₹10,000 crore for the implementation of the Anna Bhagya Yojana.
On 5 August, the government launched the Gruha Jyothi scheme. Over 1.2 crore people have benefited from this scheme. The government has allocated ₹13,910 crore to implement this guarantee.
On 27 August, AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge launched the Gruha Lakshmi Yojana in Mysuru. Around 1.12 crore people are getting monetary assistance from this scheme. The government has earmarked ₹17,500 crore for the scheme.
The government is also working on conducting a public assessment of the implementation of the four guarantees in Karnataka.
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