THE ELECTORAL REPUBLIC OF VOTE BENEFIT TRANSFERS

INDIA'S political landscape is witness to an innovative private-public partnership model. The upgrades are rapid and arrive with every election.

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It enables nationalisation of costs and personalisation of political power. People pay taxes. Government collects them. The politicians choose a section of voters to please.

As in George Orwell's farm, all are equal but some are more equal.

Like in the stock market, derivatives deliver returns.

This is the electoral republic of vote benefit transfers. To appreciate, reflect on the headlines. The buzz is about a high turnout of voters led by women at the first phase in Bihar. This validates the grand idea of political parties. The woman voter is effectively the 'X Factor'-X because it is a silent vote, or maybe because the X chromosome has been scientifically proven to be more resilient.

The resilient gender, though, does not figure in ticket allocations women account for less than 15 percent of MPs and less than 20 percent of MLAs. Sure, there is the promise of a 33 percent quota. Be that as it may, states are designing names for the monthly allowance of between ₹1,000 and 2,500, subject to conditions. Bihar became the 15th state to woo the X Factor! The cost of cash benefit transfers to women is now over ₹2 lakh crore.

Typically, states pay women a monthly allowance. In Bihar, the electoral calculus called for a bigger bang. The BJP-JD(U) combo devised the CM's employment scheme. The cash transfer of 10,000 to 75 lakh women was dressed as the first instalment of a potential ₹2 lakh kitty. As of now, Bihar has 179 schemes listed on DBT Bharat. A rattled RJD is offering ₹30,000 if elected.