Sources said that Chief Minister Gehlot is under tremendous pressure to deliver the goods in a state where BJP holds 23 of the 25 parliamentary seats.
The Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan seems to be eager to cash in on public doles to win the upcoming general elections.
It's been a little over a month since Gehlot took charge of the state for the third time as chief minister, and the Congress regime has already announced back-to-back sops targeting different segments of the electorate.
In its latest Cabinet meeting, the government has extended the benefits given to the families living below poverty line (BPL) to the families who are poor, but miss out on benefits because of the provisions that define a BPL family.
These families fall under the head termed 'above poverty line' (APL).
Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot said that APL households would now be provided with 1 kilogram wheat for a rupee.
The benefit was thus far limited to BPL families in the state.
With the cabinet approving the decision, the same benefits can now be availed by around 1 crore families.
Pilot said, 94 lakh families will benefit from the scheme after the relaxation offered by the government.
This is a huge populist bet, considering Rajasthan has a population of over 7 crore, as per the last census in 2011.
Sources said that Chief Minister Gehlot is under tremendous pressure to deliver the goods in a state where BJP holds 23 of the 25 parliamentary seats.
The Congress has just two under its belt, which it had won in the bypolls last year.
Gehlot government has already signed an order for a complete waiver of all farm loans.
In addition, a committee set up under UDH minister Shanti Dhariwal to oversee the execution of the waiver has said the kin of farmers who allegedly committed suicide under the BJP regime would also be entitled to the waiver.
The government recently pushed for 33 per cent reservation to women in the assembly and parliamentary polls.
The BJP government under CM Vasundhara Raje had announced to populist ploys like organising beneficiary meets and distribution of mobile phones as freebies to the electorate ahead of the polls last year.
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 "Ashok Gehlot")
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