Despite the claims made by the BRS regarding its overwhelmingly popular model of welfare politics, the party suffered a crushing defeat in the election.
The BRS’s poll manifesto centred on these welfare schemes. However, the Lokniti-CSDS survey shows that many voters did not benefit from most of these schemes. The government’s Aasara Pension Scheme had the maximum reach, while the Housing Scheme had the minimum reach. There seems to be a clear correlation between not benefiting from the schemes and a higher vote percentage for Congress (Table 1).
The KCR government also launched targeted schemes for the Scheduled Castes and the Other Backward Classes. Nearly four in five voters from SC (82%) and OBC castes (83%) did not benefit from these schemes. This revealed a clear voting trend toward the Congress, especially among OBC voters, as two in five OBC voters (43%), who did not benefit from the schemes, voted for the Congress (Table 2).
On the other hand, the Central schemes had much lower penetration in the State. On average, three in five voters did not benefit from the BJP-led Centre’s schemes. Those who did not benefit from these schemes found no reason to vote for the BJP.
As a result, nearly two in five voters, who did not benefit from the Central government schemes, also chose the Congress over other parties (Table 3).
It seems that the generally limited reach of the BRS’s schemes in Telangana, even after a decade in power, has interrupted its ‘hat-trick’. The findings suggest voters decide on who to vote for based on whether they benefit from schemes. If they do not benefit, they choose a party other than the incumbent.
Aadyot Prakash and Subhabita Krishna are researchers at Lokniti-CSDS
