Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Uttarakhand and Kerala are some of the states where the ruling parties have retained power in the last elections.
The return of the LDF government in Kerala was quite surprising, as in this southern state there was a tradition of changing government in every election, similar to Rajasthan. However, the Left Front government was voted back to power here due to its efficient COVID-19 management. Will Rajasthan also see a repeat of the government like this in the assembly polls?
There are chances that the tradition of government change might be broken in Rajasthan, as CM Gehlot earlier claimed that there is a massive undercurrent in favour of the ruling dispensation. Government employees, farmers, the poor section and the middle class may support the Congress government in Rajasthan, as the government schemes are wooing the voters.
They do not want to lose schemes like, free power, free treatment up to Rs 25 lakh, old pension scheme, RGHS schemes for even retired employees, etc. The BJP did not mention these schemes in its manifesto, whereas Congress has focused on these schemes.
The promise of a hike in treatment coverage from the existing Rs 25 lakh and Rs 50 lakh under Chiranjeevi Swasthya Yojana is becoming quite popular among voters from the middle and poor classes.
Even the affluent class does not want to lose the facility of free power up to 2000 units.
The farmers who used to pay Rs 8,000 earlier as power bills are now using free electricity. Some people are of the view that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is suitable for the Central government and Ashok Gehlot is the right choice for Rajasthan.
As voting takes place today (25 November), it will be interesting to see whether the voters’ mood will change. Will promises like a free trip to Ayodhya fetch BJP votes?
Will issues like the Kanhaiya Lal murder case, Red Diary, Paper Leak, and women’s safety, bring voters closer to BJP? Will BJP’s reference to Rajesh Pilot and Sachin Pilot woo Gurjar voters? Or will the voters break the tradition of changing government every election and bring Congress back to power based on the schemes and guarantees of the Gehlot government? Hence, the results might turn out to be surprising on 3 December.