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BJP banks on LPG subsidy to gain ground in poll-bound states
Ahead of the electoral battles in five states later this year, BJP led-central government on Tuesday slashed prices of cooking gas cylinders by ₹200 .
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), prepping for electoral battles in five states later this year, is hoping the cabinet’s decision to slash prices of cooking gas by ₹200 will blunt anger over price rise and take the sting out of the Opposition’s criticism of the government’s inability to tame inflation.
The Cabinet on Tuesday approved reducing the cost of LPG cylinders used for cooking by ₹200. The reduction will be more for those eligible for subsidised cylinders under the PM Ujjwala scheme. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X (previously Twitter) that it will bring comfort to “my sisters and make their lives easier.”
The BJP had been mindful of complaints about high prices of cooking gas and the impact it has on the middle class and economically weaker families, particularly in the urban areas, and had relayed the concerns to the government, party leaders said on condition of anonymity.
“Women will benefit from the increased subsidy in cooking gas. The government has been working steadily to reduce the prices of essentials and edible goods, whether it is pulses or vegetables, since it impacts a large section of people,” a leader aware of developments said.
Price rise is expected to be a major election issue in the poll-bound states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mizoram, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, and feedback from the ground indicates anger among women, who the BJP covets as a major support group. Retail inflation was flagged as a cause that contributed to the BJP’s loss in the Karnataka assembly elections in May.
“The state government in MP, for instance, has recently increased the amount of money disbursed to women under the Ladli Behna scheme from ₹1,000 to ₹1,250 a month. This was done with the intent to ease the burden on women. The additional subsidy for LPG will give more relief to families,” the leader said.
The price of a cooking gas cylinder will now cost ₹900 and ₹700 for Ujjwala beneficiaries. During an interaction with women beneficiaries of government schemes in Madhya Pradesh in July, HT had reported that the high cost of LPG cylinders was underlined as a major cause of concern. “Given that women in urban areas had only LPG as a cooking source and only an abysmal number use solar cooking sets, we had requested the government to consider a revision,” the leader cited above said.
“PM Modi has approved a subsidy of ₹200 on domestic cylinders for the mothers and sisters of the country on the auspicious occasion of Raksha Bandhan and Onam,” home minister Amit Shah, who is steering the party’s election campaign in Madhya Pradesh, said on X.
The reduction will provide relief to the public from rising inflation due to the changing global scenario, Shah said. “Along with this, the cabinet has also approved 75 lakh new Ujjwala connections, which will give freedom to poor and needy mothers from the curse of smoke,” he said.
The Opposition, however, dubbed the move as a response to the INDIA bloc aligning together.
“Till now, only two meetings have been held in the past two months by the INDIA alliance and today, we see that LPG prices have gone down by ₹200,” West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee posted on X.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh questioned the timing of the decision and said the high price of LPG was one of the main issues in the polls in Karnataka, where the Congress came back to power after dislodging the BJP.
“...Congress govt in Karnataka has implemented its five guarantees in 100 days. Congress government in Rajasthan is giving LPG cylinders at ₹500. The response has been phenomenal as people were hurting from BJP’s misgovernance. Three months before the five state elections, where BJP is staring at certain defeat, and six months before the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is literally clutching at straws. Expect more such ‘gifts’ in the coming months as the Prime Minister becomes even more desperate to cling on to his chair,” he said on X.
