Modi government announced in the budget that it will transfer direct benefits of 6,000 rupees per year for landholders of up to 2 hectares. The scheme has been implemented retrospectively from December 1, 2018 and will benefit more than 12 crore farmers. The government allotted a budget of 20,000 crore rupees for the scheme for current fiscal year and 75,000 crore rupees for the next fiscal year. The scheme will reap political dividends for BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and will help to solve the rural distress problem. The states where BJP is in power have been more enthusiastic about the scheme. The states like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have uploaded the data of the majority of potential beneficiaries on PM-KISAN portal.
Uttar Pradesh has 14 crore voters on 21 crore population. PM-KISAN is set to benefit 21,481,580 eligible beneficiary families in the state. The state has fed the data of more than 1.6 crore families on PM-KISAN portal. The average family size in UP is 5.7 members per household, which translates into 9.12 crores people benefitting from the scheme. The voter to population is two third in the state and therefore 6 crore voters in the state would benefit from the scheme in the state.
Under Yogi government, Uttar Pradesh was at the forefront of land digitization National Land Records Modernization Programme. The land digitization programme launched back in 2008 by inefficient implementation skills of Akhilesh Yadav produced very few results. The UP government launched the digitization program in 2017 the process is near completion stage.
The central government asked the states to upload the land record on PM-KISAN portal. UP was at the forefront of uploading the data on the portal because the state already digitized the land record in the majority of the districts.
There are 2.14 crore eligible families in Uttar Pradesh and the state has uploaded the data of 1.6 crore families which is almost 75 percent. UP is the only large state to provide such large data. The non-BJP ruled large states like West Bengal, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh have not been able to provide data of even 25 percent of total eligible beneficiaries.
Earlier there was a problem of execution in northern states. The states in South India have been able to implement the central government’s welfare schemes and the quality of life improved. But the north Indian states have not been able to do so due to rampant corruption and inefficient administration of regional parties like SP and BSP. BJP government in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat has been very efficient in delivering the welfare handouts to poor people. Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh is on the same trajectory and now the poor people in the state get the benefits of welfare schemes in an efficient and transparent manner.
The delivery of money to poor people in the state will be a sure shot for BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha election. As it is evident that 6 crore people will benefit from PM-KISAN alone, this will reap electoral dividends for the party. Schemes like Ujjwala and Saubhagya has helped BJP to win UP assembly election in 2017. Thousands of poor families in Uttar Pradesh have got LPG connection, electricity connection, house, and toilets under the scheme of Modi government.
The beneficiaries of the scheme will vote for Modi government irrespective of caste and gender preferences. All that matters for the poor family at the end of the day is which government is making their quality of life better.