The Congress leadership appears to have firmed up its welfare agenda to counter the BJP’s majoritarian push, declaring financial assistance to different sections of the society in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh and Telangana on the lines of guarantees promised in Karnataka that will vote on Wednesday.

In Madhya Pradesh, former chief minister and state Congress president Kamal Nath launched registration for the Nari Samman Yojna in Chhindwara on Tuesday, promising a gas cylinder for Rs 500 and an additional Rs 1,500 to every woman every month. Congress workers will go door-to-door across the state to get the forms filled which Nath described as a public pledge to be fulfilled when the party comes to power in December this year. More such promises for other sections of society will follow.

Cooking gas cylinder which is selling for Rs 1,100 now, up from Rs 410 during the Congress rule, has adversely affected large sections of society, particularly the poor who can’t afford to buy it. An additional Rs 1,500 to every woman every month will make life much easier for poor households.

The Congress promised Rs 2,000 per month to every woman in the states of Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka. In Karnataka, the party also promised Rs 3,000 every month for educated youth for three years, 10kg of rice for every individual and 200 units of free electricity.

Within an hour after the campaigning ended in Karnataka, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra flew to the neighbouring Telangana to announce a financial package for the youth which included an allowance of Rs 4,000 per month to the educated youth. Apart from filling up 2.5 lakh vacancies in the state, the Congress also promised a dedicated fund to give loans to the youth for setting up businesses. They also promised a scooty to every college-going girl. Telangana will go to polls in November-December.

The party has offered similar schemes in Rajasthan where the right to health tops the welfare agenda. Every individual is given free treatment, including surgery and examinations, in addition to medical insurance of up to Rs 25 lakh. The party has chosen the same welfare path in Chhattisgarh, indicating that economic justice will drive its politics in future as high prices and rising unemployment have caused immense distress in the society.

The Congress has chosen this path when Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked up a storm against what he called “rewdi culture”, asking states and political parties to show economic prudence instead of distributing doles. The demand for the restoration of the old pension scheme became a flashpoint between the BJP and the Congress as the latter chose to accept the employees’ wishes in Himachal, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Even Kamal Nath has declared the restoration of the old pension scheme if the Congress returns to power in Madhya Pradesh.

The Congress’s reliance on the welfare agenda will, however, be tested in Karnataka where the party used the five guarantees as the engine of its campaign, pushing politics to the backstage. The party is determined to pursue the path but it will get a setback if the BJP manages to beat the anti-incumbency in Karnataka by its Hindutva push.