A Free Cylinder Connection is Worth Its Weight in Gold in UP Politics, Especially With Polls Round the Corner

How much is a free LPG connection and free or subsidised refills worth in political terms? Ask the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, and it seems worth a lot.

An LPG cylinder connection through the PM Ujjwala Yojana launched in 2016 from Balia in Uttar Pradesh by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is what had emerged as a major reason behind BJP’s big win in the Uttar Pradesh elections in 2017 and the excellent BJP performance from the state in the 2019 general elections as well.

Over 1.47 crore families in UP, covering nearly half the state’s population, got these connections by 2019. A repeat is now being attempted as the prime minister will launch the second edition of the scheme from Mahoba in UP on August 10, six months before UP votes in 2022.

That a cylinder rings a bell in Uttar Pradesh got reinforced in the Covid times as well after the Centre announced last year that three free refills would be given to each Ujjwala scheme beneficiary in the country during the pandemic. A total of 2.71 crore free refills have been accounted for in UP in the last one year by the 1.47 crore beneficiaries, out of the 14 crore free refills given country-wide to the Ujjwala beneficiaries. The refills are otherwise offered at subsidised rates to Ujjwala beneficiaries across the country.

PM Modi travelled to Balia in UP on May 1, 2016, to launch the country-wide scheme under which eight crore people in the country got free LPG connections. This was just few months before the 2017 assembly elections in UP which the BJP swept. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections too, the scheme had rung a bell among the electorate in Uttar Pradesh as per the internal assessment of the party as the state was the biggest beneficiary of the scheme given its population, getting over 1.47 crore LPG connections.

Ahead of the 2022 UP elections, the PM has now chosen the state again from where the launch the second edition of the Ujjwala Scheme will be done on August 10. One crore more LPG connections will be released country-wide under the extended scheme, and UP is again expected to account for the maximum connections amongst all states.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the new Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri will be in Mahoba for the launch of the second edition of the scheme while PM Modi will speak via video link. The prime minister is expected to stress how lives have been changed in UP with the free LPG connections under Ujjwala scheme and how his government helped the needy by sending free refills to the beneficiaries during the Covid pandemic along with the free rations.

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