Much before the elections were held, there was a national consensus that the elections would be fought on the “Gujarat model”. To counter this, a series of “alternative” models emerged: Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and the ruling UPA's late articulation of its rights-based model. One could not suppress the excitement for one simple fact—that a national election was possibly going to be fought on development planks. But halfway through the campaign, the articulation of the various models assumed a different shape. The persona of leaders replaced their respective models and the nuances of development just faded into oblivion.
Must read for a head start:
Gujarat v UPA: models of non-governance?
Do welfare schemes catch votes?
Report: Implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA): performance audit
Act: The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005
Act: The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006
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