BJP in Uttarakhand goes the AAP way. Announces free electricity for monthly consumption up to 100 units and 50% charges on 400 units

As the assembly elections are approaching near, the ruling political dispensation in Uttarakhand is trying to find different ways and means to impress the electorates, especially in view of the Bhartiya Janata Party finding it difficult to return to power in the state having failed to come true to peoples’ expectations.

The recent episode of change of three chief ministers in mere three and a half months and subsequent media hype regarding the rumours of thirty five lawmakers rebelling against the present CM compounded with deteriorating Covid 19 situation and a massive fake Covid testing scam coming to the fore etc have infact deteriorated the image of the party with state electorates also annoyed with the skyrocketing prices of Petro products and overall inflation.

As a sequel to these prevailing troubles, the Bhartiya Janata Party government has now adopted the style of Aam Admi Party of announcing freebies as the latter has done in Delhi, where electricity tariff up to 200 units is free every month.

The Uttarakhand Power minister Harak Singh Rawat has on Wednesday announced that one hundred units of electricity would be provided free of cost to Uttarakhand families/ domestic consumers every month. The Power minister Harak Singh Rawat has made this announcement eight months before the assembly elections in Uttarakhand today, while addressing a meeting of senior power department officials.

Addressing the departmental officials Harak Singh Rawat disclosed that there are in all about thirteen lakh electricity consumers who use 100 to 200 units every month and as such the state government has formally taken a decision to provide free electricity to the consumers up to 100 units every month with fifty percent charges on those who consume 101 to 200 units, the official proposal for which is being prepared in the minister’s direction.

Kindly recall that in national capital territory of Delhi ruled by Aam Aadmi Party for the third term led by chief minister Arvind Kejrival, two hundred units electricity consumption is free of cost with further concessions on consumption up to four hundred units.

Similarly to water consumers the Delhi government has given free water supply to every household up to 20000 litres per month followed by free delivery of medicines in all government hospitals and Mohalla clinics including free treatment of crucial illnesses and surgeries in private super speciality hospitals of Delhi.

In Punjab too, the national convenor of AAP and Delhi CM Arvind Kejrival has announced free electricity to Punjab’s domestic consumers and as a result thousands of people joined AAP in a protest demonstration held in Mohali outside Captain Amrinder Singh’s farm house against the frequent power cuts of 8 to 10 hours daily. The AAP government has also upgraded Delhi government schools to the hilt providing various amneties and free distribution of stationaries etc to students bringing outstanding results.

The Power minister Harak Singh Rawat has said that this new scheme will benefit a large number of households living in interior villages and remote areas where consumption of electricity is less and genuinely required.

Harak Singh Rawat also gave relief to the consumers engaged in diary business, agricultural farming and horticulture by bringing them into domestic catagory from commercial as earlier they used to be charged electricity bills on commercial tarrifs.

The Power bills in Uttarakhand are bimonthly therefore the bills will be charged after calculating the total units in two months. For example if a domestic electricity owner consumes two hundred units in a month he will not be charged and above two hundred units up to 400 units a months will be charged fifty percent tarrif.

This step to grant concession to electricity consumers of lower middle class by the BJP government is seen as a laudable step that will compel main opposition party like Congress too to enhance the units to entice voters into its fold. The AAM Admi Party has also not announced any freebies on Delhi pattern till yet with BJP taking a lead in announcing concession in electrical billing up to 400 units.