Washington. US President Donald Trump may never accept it, but it is clearly visible that America, which is called the world's oldest democracy, is now adopting the political methods of the world's largest democracy, India. The first glimpse of this was seen in Trump's insistence on photo identity card for voting and now the promise of giving money directly has come to light.
Trump proposed 'dividend' in Dallas
Trump presented a transactional proposal to voters at the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas. He said that bring Republicans back to power in Congress and every adult American citizen can get $5,000. Trump told supporters, suppose I am once again on the ballot paper.
The thinking is similar to India's DBT scheme
The nature of India's welfare state has changed significantly in the last decade. The Direct Benefit Transfer scheme of the Modi government has changed the relationship between the government and the voters. Money started coming directly into bank accounts, due to which voters did not need any leader to explain government policy. This proved to be extremely beneficial electorally.
Indian states took this further and providing direct cash assistance to girls and women became one of the most effective tools for winning elections. The same political thinking is at work behind Trump's $5,000 proposal, although his proposal does not target any specific section like India's DBT scheme and requires the approval of Congress, which does not seem to be ready for it.
Example of India and Brazil regarding Voter ID
Another thing similar to India is Trump's insistence on implementing strict rules for voter identification. In his executive order issued in March 2025 to change federal election procedures, Trump had clearly mentioned India and Brazil, where voter identification is linked to biometric databases. Trump wrote that we have to pass 'The Save America Act' now. Under this law, proof of citizenship and a government-issued photo ID will be required for federal voting.