Winning votes with budgets

With Lok Sabha elections round the corner, various governments are bending over backwards to appease the voters. First it was the Centre that promised to give income support to farmers and gave a major relief to middle-class taxpayers. On Wednesday, it was the turn of the Assam government, which in its Budget, announced it will give gold costing around Rs 38,000 to brides, free rice to about 20 lakh tea garden workers and hiked the annuity grant to temples and mosques across the state.

Such populism is seen by most political parties as the surest way to win elections. Allurements like these, that too just before elections are due, have worked only in some cases. This is because of the diverse electorate in the country that is divided along caste, communal and regional lines. Every voter has differing needs and desires. For instance, the 10 per cent reservation promised by the Centre for the economically weaker sections may theoretically benefit lakhs but it will not go down well with those left out of its ambit. The surest way to win over voters, therefore, is to really understand the voters’ wants and work to deliver them during the five-year term. The priorities of most people are jobs, drinking water, electricity, education, law and order, roads, etc. These are not last-minute deliverables. The government of the day has to work on these fronts consistently and honestly to be able to provide these needs.

The economic cost of such populism is also huge on a poor and resource-scarce country like India. China, another country that is almost as populous as India, realised this and ushered in economic reforms with a purpose. The reforms began with the phasing out of collectivised agriculture, growth of the private sector and massive investment in infrastructure with a long-term view. Many of these measures were not entirely popular but they ensured that China became the largest economy in the world, dethroning the US. India’s rulers need to learn from their neighbour.