Flood of sops

Flood of sops: "Flood of sops
THE elections have seen a reversal of roles in the case of the two principal contenders – the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). The Congress, under the stewardship of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, is seeking people’s support for “fulfilling their aspirations” but has not announced any new scheme. The TDP, led by N. Chandrababu Naidu, who earned a reputation for being the poster boy of the World Bank-dictated reform agenda, has promised a slew of sops, including distribution of free colour television sets and cash transfer to the poor. Under the cash transfer scheme, announced in the TDP manifesto, Rs.2,000, Rs.1,500 and Rs.1,000 respectively will be transferred to the bank accounts of three categories of below-the-poverty line (BPL) families."