Months ahead of the assembly elections in Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced free treatment for all elderly citizens above 60 years at government and private hospitals in the national capital.
But, the catch? The scheme will be implemented when the AAP government “returns to power” after the Delhi Assembly elections, expected to be held early next year. The term of the current assembly expires on February 23, 2025. The AAP won 62 of 70 seats in the 2020 assembly elections, while BJP won the remaining eight.
Kejriwal said there will be no upper limit as per the scheme.
'Sanjeevani Yojana' will cover routine procedures and critical care, Kejriwal said. AAP volunteers will begin the registration drive in the coming days.
This is not the first time Kejriwal and the AAP have tried to woo the elderly ahead of assembly elections. Before the 2020 polls, the ‘Teerath Yatra’ scheme was announced, under which more than one lakh senior citizens took trips to pilgrimage sites across India.
Woo the women, win the elections?
The former CM's latest announcement comes days after he declared that the Delhi government has approved the Mahila Samman Yojana, according to which, eligible women will get Rs 1,000 every month. He had added that the amount will be increased to Rs 2,100 if the AAP returns to power post the assembly elections next year.
In the recent Maharashra assembly polls, the direct benefit transfer scheme of the Mahayuti alliance—comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) and the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction)—was credited for its landslide win over the Maha Vikas Aghadi.
In Jharkhand, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led alliance retained power earlier this year, with Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s Mukhyamantri Maiya Samman Yojana (MMSY)—in which the government would transfer Rs 2,500 a month to the accounts of poor women—playing a major role in his win.
BJP rode on a similar Ladli Behena scheme to return to power in Madhya Pradesh, while the Congress wooed the Kannadiga women with a Gruha Lakshmi scheme.
In West Bengal, CM Mamata Banerjee's Lakshmir Bhandar scheme put Rs 1,000 each into the accounts of two crore women.
The Sanjeevani Yojana comes months after the BJP-led Union government expanded Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) to give free treatment of up to Rs 5 lakh per year to all those aged 70 years and above. Beneficiaries may visit any empanelled hospital to avail the benefits under the AB-PMJAY scheme.