India, Feb. 24 -- With the elections in the national capital territory done and dusted and the new government was sworn in, it is time to reflect on the role of freebies that played a role in shaping the people's voting choices and the unprecedented rise of patronage in electoral politics. Besides reducing a large section of the electorate to mere clients, freebies do not provide a structural solution to poverty.

It is argued that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s electoral success in the previous two assembly polls was primarily due to subsidised utilities, free public transportation for women, and free access to public health services for the marginalised sections of society. The party promised freebies this time too; in fact, at a much larg...