Chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s efforts to breach Rajasthan’s 25-year-old tradition of alternating between Congress and BJP governments is facing hurdles.

A lack of publicity about recent welfare measures, problems in accessing old ones, and counter-propaganda by the BJP appear to have limited the effectiveness of these schemes against anti-incumbency.

In July, Rajasthan became the first state to pass a law to regulate the employment of platform-based gig workers and bring them social security. None of the workers of these platforms — such as taxi and food delivery apps — that The Telegraph interviewed in Jaipur and Jodhpur was aware of this law. This bill was passed a little over two months before the polls were announced.

“It couldn’t be publicised,” said labour rights activist Nikhil Dey. “This is a community that doesn’t fully understand that they are gig workers. But it’s a breakthrough and gig workers are now demanding this in Telangana as well. It will have an impact on the parliamentary elections rather than the Assembly elections.”

Similarly, there is little awareness about the minimum income guarantee bill, which assures every adult who registers 125 days of work in a year. The Congress has promised to increase this to 150 days, if re-elected.

The Chiranjeevi health insurance now offers a cover of Rs 25 lakh and has registered 1.44 crore households in two years. The party manifesto hikes this to Rs 50 lakh. The BJP has accused the Congress government of merely renaming the Ayushman Bharat scheme of the Centre, which offers a cover of Rs 5 lakh.

When asked, Dey explained: “Ayushman is a small part of the Chiranjeevi scheme. The Ayushman expenditure in the state is around Rs 390 crore whereas that on Chiranjeevi is around Rs 2,800 crore. Similarly, in social security pensions, the central government gives Rs 343 crore under various pension schemes, whereas the total annual payout in the state is of approximately Rs 8,800 crore — over 25 times the amount sent by the Centre.”

Yet, many voters believe that Chiranjeevi is mostly funded by the Centre.

Jaipur auto driver Narendar Bairwa registered his family as soon as a relative of his was admitted to hospital with Covid in 2021. “This has taken a major tension off my mind,” he said.

“The waiver of electricity charges for the first 100 units has also been a big help, for which I give credit to the chief minister. Those who want a change in government are mainly those who are rich.”

But Toufiq Raza, a tailor’s assistant in Jaipur, said his power bill went up because of miscalculation. The complaint about higher power bills echoed in several parts of the state. “At the end of the day, what matters is that you know someone who can solve your problems,” Raza told this newspaper.

Jatin Das Lodha’s connections go right to the top. A resident of Gehlot’s ancestral Mahamandir neighbourhood in Jodhpur, Lodha and everyone else here claim to know the chief minister.

“Three months ago, I got a message on the e-mitra app (Rajasthan’s main digital service portal) to do a KYC for my pension. I did that but I haven’t got my pension. The computer service centre people who are supposed to solve my problem for free have not done so even after taking Rs 200,” he said.

The Gehlot government has increased the monthly old-age pension to Rs 1,000 and has promised to further raise it to Rs 1,500.

Gaurav Panwar, a teacher in Tonk, said: “The information about most schemes comes to us by word of mouth. If you are educated, have a smartphone, and use the e-mitra app, or get help from someone who does, you can access the schemes. If not, you are dependent on local body representatives or officials who may or may not be helpful.”

Abdul Wahid, a laundromat owner in Jodhpur, said it took him a month to register online for the Chiranjeevi scheme as the server was down. “I am satisfied with the (state government’s performance in the) last five years, but shouldn’t delivery issues have been sorted by now?” he said.

In the last three months, 20 thefts have taken place in Tonk’s Gunsi village.

Vegetable seller Sushila Saini said: “There’s no piped water (in her part of the village), there’s no public toilet. That may take time to build. Streetlights are not being installed even after these thefts.”

She attributed this to the “inefficient” Congress sarpanch.

Workers remove loudspeakers on the last day of poll campaigning ahead of Rajasthan Assembly elections, in Beawar, Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023. PTI picture

“The root of the problem lies in the system that Gehlotji put in place when he became chief minister in 1998. He gave MLAs the responsibility of building the party in their constituencies,” Sikar-based political analyst Ashfaq Kayamkhani explained.

“The MLAs created their personal cadres who became synonymous with the party. Now if a local leader or MLA is not performing, it is hard to replace him (the MLA) as he takes away the organisation with him.”

This year, the Gehlot government has also started giving dal, sugar and spices to supplement the mandated ration of grains under the National Food Security Act.

The central quota of eligible households, based on the 2011 census, restricts the enrolment of new beneficiaries. The public’s anger at being unable to register for a ration card is, however, directed at the state government.

“The schemes are all very good. Even I am a beneficiary of Chiranjeevi and my parents get the old-age pension. But the Congress is a party biased towards Muslims and, therefore, must be removed,” Jodhpur bike taxi rider Sawar Lal said.

“Gehlot has done more for Jodhpur than anyone else but his time is over, and I don’t see anyone else in his party as a leader.”

Rajasthan votes on November 25.