In 2022, power tariffs in Karnataka were hiked for the third time, drawing flak from consumer groups and Opposition parties. On January 11, as it kicked off its pre-poll 'Prajadhwani Yatra', the Congress announced that if elected to power, it would provide 200 units of free power to every household in the state. Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar called it the party's “first guarantee”, a set of several to come ahead of the polls which, the party said, would help ease the burden on the people due to the rising prices of essential goods. Power prices had gone up by almost a rupee per unit last year, the party pointed out. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was among the first to criticise the promise, terming it “irresponsible, irrational”. BJP general secretary C T Ravi said the Congress had come up with the promise on realising that it would not be able to win the coming Assembly elections in Karnataka. "It has resorted to its patented freebies culture," he said. Energy Minister V Sunil Kumar accused the previous Congress government led by Siddaramaiah of having pushed the Energy Supply Companies (Escoms) towards “bankruptcy”. "You might have forgotten about having read the budget in darkness. This image is proof of how the Energy Department functioned during your tenure," Kumar said, tweeting an image of Siddaramaiah presenting the budget in March 2016. That year, a sudden power cut had disrupted Siddaramaiah's budget presentation. As back-up generators failed to activate in time, the CM was forced to use a torchlight to read out the budget, till power came back on after 5 minutes. Kumar also claimed that the Congress's announcement was a ploy to finally pave the way for privatisation of Escoms. Siddaramaiah retorted saying power production in the state had improved under the Congress government from 2013 to 2018. Giving numbers, he said that from 4,855 MW generated from renewable sources in 2014-15, power generation had gone up to over 13,500 MW by 2018, while the overall generation stood at 28,741 MW. "It is funny that the BJP claims to have improved Escoms despite purchasing power from neighbouring states at twice the price, when Karnataka was generating excess power," he alleged. Congress leader Priyank Kharge said the only motive of the Congress promise was easing the hardships faced by people due to rising inflation. “The party understands this,” he said. It rings a bell with Congress supporters like Giri Raj, an auto driver, who says he would save “Rs 500-600 at least” a month if he got 200 units of free power as promised. “Many voters will consider this when they vote," he said. Many Congress workers too are enthused and believe the promise could be the game changer. However, there are others who are sceptical, especially of such pre-election sops. Lokesh S, a resident of Indiranagar, Bengaluru, said there was no doubt that the promise would strike a chord as prices have been hiked several times in the past few years. "But the promise is clearly made with the polls in mind. And the BJP is bound to counter if it becomes popular among the people,” Lokesh said. The Aam Aadmi Party, which has declared its intentions to enter the Karnataka Assembly electoral race, said the Congress was copying the “AAP model”. "It's good that the Karnataka Congress is learning people-friendly steps from the AAP. Hopefully they will include schools and safe transport too (in their promises)," AAP leader Bhaskar Rao said. An AAP government has provided 200 units of free power in Delhi since 2014 – when it came to power in the Capital – promising to replicate the same in other states, given its popularity. In the recent Gujarat elections, it promised 300 units of free electricity in its poll announcements. The Congress has been trying to catch up, and both in Himachal Pradesh, where it won, and Gujarat, where it lost, its promises included free electricity up to 300 units monthly to all households. Incidentally, anticipating a tough battle in Himachal, the BJP too before the elections promised to continue its 125 units of free electricity scheme.
