Click to play videoChennai: As the battle to become the next chief minister of Tamil Nadu enters its final week the political alliances in the state are pulling out all the stops.
This week Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram was in Chennai, not just defending his alliance's promise of free colour TVs but also giving subsidised rice and waiving farmer's loans.
Chidambaram started the chennai leg of his election campaign over the weekend.
The Harvard law graduate might not be a crowd puller in the mould of Karunanidhi or Jayalalitha but he drives home his point effectively that the DMK-led coalition's promise of free colour tvs, subsidised rice and loan waivers can be implemented.
"The AIADMK coalition has raised doubts about whether we will fulfill our promises. I have challenged Jayalalitha to a public debate where we can both financially justify our manifestos. But even five days later she has not responded," Chidambaram said.
Ironic for a man who, in his role as finance minster, has often urged state governments to stop freebies.
The good lawyer that he is, Chidambaram refuses to be drawn into how a state that is Rs 30,000 crores in debt will finance these promises.
But the electorate is not complaining as they are sold on the free colour tvs.
"They will definitely give us rice at Rs 2 a kilo and free colour TVs," a local resident, Devanandan, said.
"He will do all that he promises. If the state government is aligned to the Center we will benfit from it," another resident, Senthamarai, said.
Whichever party wins the elections, analysts estimate that carrying out the promises could cost the exchequer between Rs 10,000 and 20,000 crore.
Money that would be better spent on infrastructure.
Chidambaram might be internationally acclaimed for his fiscal prudence but it is election time in Tamil Nadu and good economics will have to take a back seat to politics.
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