Soon after the Election Commission said that it was going to announce the dates for upcoming Assembly elections in Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry, three of these poll-bound states came forward with populist schemes, hours before the EC announcement on Friday,
Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry introduced last-minute policy changes on 26 February, discernibly for the purpose of bettering their electoral prospects.
Announcement of new welfare schemes is prohibited once the EC declares the poll dates and the model code of conduct comes into effect. This is aimed at minimising the advantage ruling parties may be subject to.
What Do the Last-Minute Schemes Offer?
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took to Twitter and introduced a hike in the wages of daily-wage workers under the West Bengal Urban Employment Scheme, noting that up to 56,500 workers, out of which 40,500 unskilled, 8,000 semi-skilled, and 8,000 skilled stand to benefit from this.
He had gone…