These election promises were made on April 1. Seriously!
Election promises better be empty, like our wallets.
First, there is nothing called a free lunch. This is life.
Second, even if you spend something to get your ‘free’ lunch, you may not get it. This is politics in India.
And Indian voters — even if they get the first point — will never come to terms with the second point, and will remain naïve enough to be bought by promises of free laptops, pressure cookers, scooters, mangalsutras, wet grinders (for dosa batter), bicycles, cows, gold, free WiFi, free data in the election season — basically, anything that comes free.
And there lies our story…
1.). 10 Litres of unadulterated brandy
Alcohol is injurious to health, but not if you get unadulterated brandy which will double as medicine. Or, that is what AM Sheik Davood, an independent candidate from Tirupur Lok Sabha constituency wants his voters to believe. His groundwork ahead of Lok Sabha elections 2019 sounds like a plan.
He will supply 10 litres of pure brandy imported from Pondicherry to every house every day.
The constituency has approximately 9 lakh voters. Just saying.
And 10 litres is a huge amount. We drink 3-4 litres of water every day, in case you too are under some influence like Davood to understand the gravity of the poll promise.
2.). No police intervention in child marriage
This is actually funny in the sense that not only independent candidates, who know for sure that there’s not even a lean possibility to win the elections and so promise Moon to the voters. Sometimes candidates of national political parties, too, get swayed — quite a far away.
For example, this BJP woman from Rajasthan, who promised no police intervention in child marriage if she wins the Assembly seat (2018).
It was widely condemned. How can you promise something like this?
But the funnier and quite under-reported thing is Shobha Chauhan, the said BJP candidate, actually won the seat (Sojat).
3.). Free rides to Sabarimala
Most of us Indians are very middle-class. We are happy getting a free bicycle in our class X, and a free scooter and laptop during graduation. We never demand a four-wheeler. We will never ask for an iPhone.
So when the BJP in Telangana promised free rides to Sabarimala to Telangana voters, no one asked whether it was by road or flight, whether it was for women belonging to the menstruation age brackets too, or whether the free ride includes the return journey as well.
Or, the voters might have known very well that the BJP was not coming to power in KCR’s Telangana.
4.). Abolish Exam (NEET)
Oh hello, do you know that you are talking about all-India exams involving the future of lakhs of students, and not some playschool tests.
Who cares?
As evident from the name, National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test is a national examination for medical entrance. Yes, it has many detractors. Many states have opposed to the technicalities of the test.
But the DMK has taken its commitment to a different level.
This Lok Sabha Election, it has tied up with the Congress. If it wins, it will scrap NEET.
NEET 2019, however, is scheduled on May 5.
5.). Take slippers, beat me up...
...For I may fail. Obviously, I will.
So, an independent candidate, Akula Hanumantha Rao, distributed slippers to the voters of Koratla constituency of Telangana (Assembly Election, 2018). He promised that if he failed to deliver, the voters were free to use those slippers on him.
We are sure that people liked those slippers so much that they just slipped into those, went to poll booths and pressed the button for the TRS.
Election promises better be empty, like our wallets.