NEW DELHI: The Congress in Punjab may be staring at an Rs 2000 Cr budget for its Smart Phone sop for youngsters in case it wins in the state early next year. Over 21 lakh youngsters, nearly 20% of them girls, and maximum from the prosperous Ludhiana district, have already lined to register for a free phone from Congress.There are still eight more days to go to register, raising speculation that nearly half of the state’s youngsters may want the phone.“There are 91 lakh youngsters in Punjab in age-group between 18 and 35. We have put a condition that a person in that age-group who is residing in Punjab, whose domicile in Punjab, at least Class 10 pass and with family annual income less than Rs 6 lakh will be eligible.Registrations have already crossed 21 lakh as of today and the last date has now been extended from November 30 to December 10,” a Congress functionary told ET , saying they are now expecting nearly 35-40 lakh registrations to come in all for the phones.The phones are being promised for delivery only post a Congress win in the state. As per a check on Flipkart , a phone with specifications cited by Congress would cost Rs 5000 upwards. Plus, the party has offered free voice calls and data for a year.That could mean a budget of almost Rs 2000 Crore, as per a rough back-of-the-envelope calculation. Congress has not specified which phone it will provide. “We have not decided on the same. We have put out the specifications of the proposed phone – a 16 MP camera, 16 GB storage space, 4G compatible, dual SIM, 5 Inch screen with Corning Gorilla Glass and 3500 MAH battery,” a functionary said.As per the registration figures for the Smartphones accessed by ET till November 25 by when 11.5 lakh registrations had come in, the maximum applications at nearly 17% came in from the otherwise prosperous Ludhiana district followed by 9% from Amritsar, 8% from Patiala and 6.5% from Jalandhar. Nearly 20% of all applicants from most the districts are girls. “Our e-mail and Facebook page is flooded with requests from youngsters that they learnt of the offer late and wish to register now. Hence the last date has been extended till December 10,” a functionary said.Significantly, the youth in Punjab is the majority vote-bank and catchment area for both the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress. AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal had ridiculed the Congress Smartphone offer last week, saying Punjab’s youth won’t care for the phones, but registration figures are now belying that talk.Congress has further also assured jobs to unemployed youths in the 18-35 age group and said an unemployment allowance of Rs 2500 will be given till the job is provided.Desist FreebiesIncidents such as these make it imperative for the government to usher in electoral reforms. For now, the election commission should question the Congress party about its promise of a free smartphone. It is effectively a material inducement to secure votes for the party, and therefore amounts to subversion of the electoral processes. The party must provide an explanation and provide details on the source of funds for this inducement. Political parties must not offer freebies.