DC Edit | States in crisis as parties promise freebies in exchange for votes

In this era of fierce competition, when promises of freebies are used to win votes, each political party is trying to outdo its rivals by offering to spend taxpayers' money generously on distributing incentives that may drain the state coffers but can win votes for the Netas and their parties.

As Jammu and Kashmir gears up for a historic election ten years after the last election, the competition for voter incentives is fierce. While the Congress party promises women Rs 3,000 a month, along with food rations and a phenomenal health insurance of Rs 2.5 crore, the BJP is inclined to bundle all this into a financial package equivalent to covering basic household expenses of Rs 18,000 a month, which is transferred directly to the eldest woman in a household.

Governments that offer incentives for women empowerment are fast heading for a financial crisis. In some states like Himachal Pradesh, it is even difficult to pay government employees their salaries at the beginning of the month.

However, such a prospect of financial bankruptcy of states that are already swimming against the tide and have to make monthly interest payments of thousands of crores of rupees does not seem to matter to the netas who are vying for state government power and wooing voters with horrendous promises.

As a class, politicians seem insensitive to the cost of living crisis faced by the middle class while inflation continues to rise and reign supreme. It has been pointed out that the gross fiscal deficit of the states currently stands at about Rs 940 crore and has increased from Rs 320 crore to this huge sum in the last decade.

Free supply of electricity, limited to a maximum of 200 units, equivalent to the monthly consumption of a lower middle class family, has left gaping deficits in most state-run power utilities. Free bus rides for women in addition to a basic monthly payment to them serve ideals such as women empowerment, but come at a cost.

Of course, all of this puts additional pressure on the deficit in public finances. If you add all the loss-making state-owned enterprises, the debt of every Indian adds up to just under $2,000 per person out of the $2.8 trillion national debt (central government, states, municipalities, public institutions and social security funds), as calculated at the end of 2022.

The point is that this competitive culture of vote-harvesting is a political phenomenon that is inherently dishonest. That all parties are guilty of it does not absolve anyone of this fraudulent practice of vote-harvesting. It may be practiced all over the world, but in India it seems to be pursued with a competitive zeal, without any regard for the impact on public finances.

Arguing about election promises that have been kept and those that have not been kept does not help people. The courts also regularly comment on the free culture, but there is no mechanism that prevents politicians from announcing the transition to the promised land so that they can govern, regardless of the impact that free offers have on the collective prosperity of a state.