The success of AAP in Punjab demonstrates that if you are willing to pay (legal) bribes to the citizens in form of freebies, you can win the elections. According to the media reports,

Punjab’s financial crisis is set to worsen with the debt likely to reach Rs 252,880 crore by this fiscal. AAP is likely to face uphill task to fulfill its whopping poll promises of investment in health and education and besides free and regular power to 35 lakh households. Further, AAP has promised Rs 1,000 for all adult women, which is likely to cost the government Rs 12,000 Crores while the total GST revenue of the state is around Rs 17,000 crores.

Banking largely on freebies to woo the electorate, the party has promised Rs 1,000 for all adult women and suitably compensating financially Anganwadi and ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists) workers.

After staking claim to form the government, Mann on Saturday promised AAP would provide a good Cabinet and make historic decisions. However, the ever increasing salary and pension burden and rising debt and interest leave little scope for development, admit officials.

With Punjab’s financial crisis set to worsen with the debt likely to reach Rs 252,880 crore by this fiscal, the incoming Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government led by Chief Minister-designate Bhagwant Mann is likely to face uphill task to fulfill its whopping poll promises of investment in health and education and besides free and regular power to 35 lakh households.

As per the latest findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the state’s financial crisis is set to worsen with the debt likely to reach Rs 3.73 lakh crore by 2024-25. Government officials told IANS that the state’s debt has increased by Rs 1 lakh crore in the past five years under the outgoing Congress government, largely owing to populist schemes.

When the Congress government took over the reins in 2017, it got the legacy of a Rs 2.08 lakh crore debt left by the decade-long rule of the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP in the state. An official familiar with the matter told IANS that political compulsions and populist announcements have been taking a huge toll on the state’s finances and this may surge the debt beyond the projected Rs 2.52 lakh crore.

Moreover, 50% of the newly-elected MLAs in Punjab have criminal cases registered against them, as compared to 14% in the previous House.

The success of AAP shows the grim reality of Indian politics, one is leading the nation to economic bankruptcy. The result is that Indian democracy is heading fast towards its nemesis if the majority of the population in a state gets intoxicated by freebies.

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