Cometh elections, cometh the rain of rewdis. The pledges made by the competing political alliances in poll-bound Maharashtra are an example of populism’s irresistible pull on India’s political parties. Consider some of the promises that have been made to the voters by the warring Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi coalitions. Among other sops, the Mahayuti, comprising of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party, has promised farm loan waivers, a hike in the monthly amount of the Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana as well as a rise in the payment to farmers under the Namo Shetkari Mahasanman Nidhi Yojana. The MVA — the Congress, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) are principal its constituents — has left no populist stone unturned either. Its ‘five guarantees’ include monthly doles and free bus rides for women, farm waivers to farmers as well as financial assistance to unemployed youths.

What the competing politicians seem to have forgotten in their eagerness to entice voters with populist lollypops is that urgent matter of Maharashtra’s fiscal health. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India had already warned of a deterioration in this aspect: the state has to repay Rs 2.75 lakh crore in terms of debt in seven years. Other fiscal numbers make for equally grim reading. The CAG’s State Finances Audit Report for the financial year ending March 2023 had found that of Maharashtra’s total outstanding liability of 6.61 lakh crore — which was 18.73% of its gross state domestic product — Rs 5.33 lakh crore or 80% comprised of public debt. This could leave very little elbow room for the new government in terms of spending on public welfare. Yet there is no stopping the deluge of political freebies. There is an additional hypocrisy associated with this culture of populism that merits exposure. Both the Mahayuti and the MVA alliances have curated their freebie outreach by keeping women voters in mind. It is estimated that women voters number 4.5 crore in the state. Ironically, together, both coalitions have fielded 56 women for 288 constituencies: this means that women account for merely 10% of the total candidates in the fray. The underlying message from the political parties for Maharashtra’s women is thus a mixture of patronage and condescension. Women, the message seems to suggest, are important as voters/consumers but not as political leaders and agents of change.