(This piece was originally published on Quint Hindi on 25 July. It has been translated to English. Read the piece in Hindi here.)
Just ahead of the Bihar elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced a flurry of populist schemes. In the past month alone, he has made nearly half a dozen announcements, each of which is expected to put a significant financial strain on the state treasury.
Among these, the most recent is the promise of 125 units of free electricity per household per month. Compared to his other announcements, this one has received more attention, largely due to Nitish Kumar’s past statements criticising the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi and other state governments for offering free electricity to the public.
Interestingly, when news began circulating in the media about the government's intention to provide free electricity and the finance department's approval of the plan, the latter issued a press note stating that no such proposal had been agreed upon.
In a press release issued on 13 July, the finance department clarified: "Certain media outlets are reporting that the finance department has approved a proposal to provide 100 units of free electricity per month. We would like to clarify that no such approval has been given by the department, and no decision has been made in this regard. The claim that the finance department has approved such a proposal appears misleading and factually incorrect."
Just three days after this denial, the Chief Minister announced that all domestic consumers in Bihar would receive 125 units of electricity per month for free. He posted on his social media handle that the move would benefit 16.7 million families.