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The BJP’s Welfare Schemes: Did They Make a Difference in the 2019 Elections?

Author

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  • Rajeshwari Deshpande
  • Louise Tillin
  • K.K. Kailash

Abstract

In this article, we use data from the 2019 NES post-poll survey to assess the impact of BJP’s welfare schemes on voting behaviour. We demonstrate that compared to earlier elections, voters are more likely to give credit to the central government as opposed to state governments or local politicians for welfare schemes. This centralization is especially the case for some of the BJP’s new welfare programmes such as Ujjwala and the Jan Dhan Yojana . However, even earlier Congress-era schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the Awas Yojana are now more associated with the central government. Schemes such as the Public Distribution System (PDS) and Old Age Pensions are still more likely to be associated with state governments. At the all-India level, we find some evidence that voters who received benefits under Ujjwala, Jan Dhan Yojana or Awas Yojana schemes were more likely to vote for the BJP, whereas recipients of pensions or MGNREGA were less likely to support the BJP.

Suggested Citation

  • Rajeshwari Deshpande & Louise Tillin & K.K. Kailash, 2019. "The BJP’s Welfare Schemes: Did They Make a Difference in the 2019 Elections?," Studies in Indian Politics, , vol. 7(2), pages 219-233, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:indpol:v:7:y:2019:i:2:p:219-233
    DOI: 10.1177/2321023019874911
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    1. Ana L. De La O, 2013. "Do Conditional Cash Transfers Affect Electoral Behavior? Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Mexico," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 57(1), pages 1-14, January.
    2. Auerbach, Adam Michael & Thachil, Tariq, 2018. "How Clients Select Brokers: Competition and Choice in India's Slums," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 112(4), pages 775-791, November.
    3. Tillin, Louise & Deshpande, Rajeshwari & Kailash, K. K. (ed.), 2015. "Politics of Welfare: Comparisons Across Indian States," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199460120.
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    1. Priyanshu Gupta & Anuj Goyal & Rajesh Bhattacharya, 2022. "Who Moved my Welfare Scheme? Federalism and the Politics of Credit Attribution in Rural India," Journal of South Asian Development, , vol. 17(3), pages 347-381, December.
    2. Ankush Goyal & Rajender Kumar, 2022. "Does Social Welfare Programmes Influence Households Trust in Local Administration and Their Political Participation? Evidence from the MGNREG Scheme in India," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 16(3), pages 602-617, December.
    3. Jyoti Mishra & Vibha Attri, 2020. "Governance, Public Service Delivery and Trust in Government," Studies in Indian Politics, , vol. 8(2), pages 186-202, December.
    4. Steven I. Wilkinson, 2021. "Technology and clientelist politics in India," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-153, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Ankita Barthwal & Asim Ali, 2021. "Bypassing the Patronage Trap: Evidence from Delhi Assembly Election 2020," Studies in Indian Politics, , vol. 9(2), pages 254-272, December.
    6. Prashant K. Trivedi & Shilp Shikha Singh, 2022. "What Lies Beneath the Successes of Hindutva: Reading the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022," Studies in Indian Politics, , vol. 10(2), pages 214-226, December.
    7. Pushkar Maitra & Sandip Mitra & Dilip Mookherjee & Sujata Visaria, 2023. "Economic Policies vs. Identity Politics: The Rise of a Right-wing Nationalist Party in India," Monash Economics Working Papers 2023-12, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    8. K. K. Kailash, 2024. "The Politics of Social Welfare: The BJP and the Discerning Voter," Studies in Indian Politics, , vol. 12(2), pages 228-250, December.

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