Race For Revdis: Good Politics Or Bad Economics?

With around two months left for the Delhi Assembly Elections slated to take place early next year, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal today announced free treatment for senior citizens at all government and private hospitals. Now this 'Sanjeevani' scheme comes days after Arvind Kejriwal announced a monthly assistance of Rs 1,000 to women in the city and promised to raise it to Rs 2,100 after the elections. Remember, AAP is seeking a third consecutive full term in Delhi, following its landslide victory in 2020, where it won 62 out of 70 seats. The upcoming elections will serve as a test of the party's governance model. While welfare has been a major catalyst for AAP's politics, be it Delhi or Punjab, welfare or populist schemes as a whole have also become an integral, indispensable part of Indian politics. Will AAP be able to tide over anti-incumbency, corruption charges, and an aggressive BJP? Politics in the last ten years has redefined welfare not as a matter of benevolence, but about the rights of people. But in an age of competitive welfarism, will fiscal prudence take a hit?