In cash we trust: The rise of direct transfers in election playbooks

₹5,000 each to 13.1 million women under its Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai (women’s rights grant) scheme. It already pays ₹1,000 per month under the scheme introduced in 2023.Rival All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam (AIADMK) led by Edappadi Palaniswami has countered it with a promise to double the monthly grant and also pay up to ₹10,000 per family.

AIADMK has also promised cash grants to unemployed youth, free power to some sections and cash gifts for festivals.Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress in West Bengal has promised to raise payouts under already existing cash transfer schemes while challenger Bharatiya Janata Party has said it will pay women ₹3,000 per month if voted to power.Targeting women voters has become central to electoral strategy.One of the earliest big-ticket freebies which, it could be argued, tilted elections favourably was made by the DMK in the mid-1960s when it promised 4.5 kg of rice for Re 1. The pledge was prompted by a prevailing shortage of rice which shot up prices by over 10 times to ₹0.85 per kg between 1966 and 1967.Free or low-priced grain has been a campaign instrument ever since.

NT Rama Rao used it effectively in the 1980s and DMK’s M Karunanidhi in the 1990s. Over the years Tamil Nadu continued to set the freebie trend with television sets, kitchen blenders and other gadgets.

But unlike regular food supply, these were one-time costs.Promises such as free power offered by several states, notably Punjab, and cash transfers had bigger implications for public finances. The Maharashtra, Haryana and Bihar state elections in 2025 really ramped up cash transfers, especially those targeting women.The success of Nitish Kumar in Bihar and Shivraj Chouhan in Madhya Pradesh in building