Cong mulls K’taka playbook, may unveil 5 guarantees

New Delhi: Congress is seriously weighing the "five guarantees" of Karnataka as promises for the Maharashtra electorate.An additional feature in the Maharashtra polls will be the promise of caste census, to woo communities across the caste divide and to assure the electorate that the Congress approach seeks to address the multiple quota rows raging in the state without disturbing the existing share of any community.The populist promises being considered for Maharashtra revolve around monthly cash payments to women heads of households, free bus travel for women, free 10 kg food grains for families, free power up to 200 units, unemployment allowance.Sources said the Congress brass is actively discussing the Karnataka guarantees for the Maharashtra manifesto, with some tweaks. The populist approach seeks to build on the party's success in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.What seems to have added urgency to the party's populist approach is the sops the BJP-supported Eknath Shinde govt has unveiled after its dismal Lok Sabha show, like the "Ladki-Bahin Yojana" entitling women between 21-65 years to Rs 1,500 monthly. Congress is likely to promise an increase in the cash amount.The party first adopted the "guarantee-based approach" in the 2022 Himachal Pradesh polls, which also marked its first victory since Dec 2018 when it swept Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Then, it announced "five guarantees" for Karnataka elections, where it registered a big win over the BJP in May 2023. Later, Congress made similar promises in Telangana in Dec 2023.
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