A Losing Hand | Congress
At the entrance of Delhi's upscale Khan Market, which, according to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is the epicentre of all the political and intellectual forces out to demolish his image, a large hoarding of Congress president Rahul Gandhi stares out at you. It displays the NYAY message, the Congress's minimum income guarantee scheme launched on April 2, nine days before the first phase of the 2019 general election. Through NYAY, the party promised to deposit Rs 72,000 annually in the bank accounts of the poorest 20 per cent of Indian households. In that context, the positioning of the NYAY hoarding at Khan Market-frequented by Delhi's uber rich-seemed a perplexing decision. In fact, several Congress leaders opposed putting up the hoarding in posh localities of Delhi, as NYAY was perceived to be a populist measure by the country's upwardly mobile middle class and the rich. There was a fear that higher taxes would be imposed to fund NYAY.
Yet, the Congress brass overruled such apprehension and
