Congress Does An AAP In Karnataka With Free Electricity Promise

The Congress has promised free electricity for upto 200 units in Karnataka -- a promise that has so far been made by Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party in states they have contested and are ruling. This is the first of the five big promises the party plans to make, which will form the foundation for their campaign for the state elections that are due by May. So far, the party has made other promises that include jobs, funds for irrigation, land and free housing for the  Scheduled Castes and Tribes community.

Sources said Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will visit Karnataka on January 16 to unveil the second big pre-election promise of the party. These will be women-centric, sources said.

The party made the announcement after the launch of a statewide bus tour called 'Praja Dhwani Yatre' -- led jointly by its state unit chief D K Shivakumar and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah.

Making the announcement at a party's convention as part of the statewide tour, DK Shivakumar said: "Through our first guarantee of providing 200 units of free power to every household across the state, we have expressed our commitment to brighten every house with light". Leader of Opposition Mr Siddaramaiah said, "200 units of free power every month is not only limited to Dalits, backward and minorities, it is for everyone, every household".

The bus tour began at "Veer Soudha," a memorial where Mahatma Gandhi had presided over the Congress session in 1924, after paying tributes to him.

The Congress lost power in Karnataka in 2020 as its government led by ally HD Kumaraswamy crashed following an exodus by a chunk of MLAs.  The party, which has a strong ground presence in the state, is expected to make a big effort to unseat the BJP.

The free power promise -- among other things -- has worked for AAP in Delhi, where it has won two consecutive terms. In Punjab, where electricity prices were skyrocketing, AAP won a sweeping victory last year.

The situation in Karnataka is slightly different where the cost of units vary marginally between urban and rural areas. It is, however, far more expensive than Punjab and Delhi, with the power board charging Rs 8.15 per unit above 200 units in urban areas. The corresponding charge in rural areas is Rs 7.65.

"We have anyway been giving 75 units of free electricity. Their promise will just remain a promise," BJP MLA Ravikumar told NDTV. "This is just another poll plank by them. When they had a chance to run the government, they didn't do do it. We are countering the Congress by implementing the work which they only promise," he added.

Promises made by Karnataka Congress within a month

• Rs 5000 crore budget allocation for Hyderabad-Karnataka region
• Will fill all vacant positions in Hyderabad-Karnataka region within first 9 months and create additional 1 lakh jobs
• Provision of Rs 1 crore to every gram panchayat in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region
• Allocation of Rs 2 lakh crore for all pending irrigation projects
• Finish phase 3 of the Upper Krishna Lift Irrigation project
• Increase height of Almatti Dam to 524.26 meter
• Will complete Mahadayi project within 3 years at a cost of Rs 3000 crore
• Implementation of Sadashiva Committee report on internal reservation for SC community
• Free housing to all from SC/ST community
• 2 acres of dry land for every landless SC/ST family
• Fill all pending vacancies for SC/ST community