Elections in India are the bacchanalia of irrational exuberance, loose talk, and mindless populism. Public finance, on the other hand, is an exercise demanding prudence and intelligence. The predicament of democracy is that the same folks who contest elections also manage the exchequer. The popularity of freebie culture has made matters worse in recent times. Thankfully, the ruling dispensation in Maharashtra has tried to temper its election-time excesses and flourishes with some degree of responsibility.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti government’s pre-poll promises have already resulted in a massive debt. Maharashtra’s debt is projected to grow to Rs 9.3 lakh crore and revenue deficit to Rs 45,891 crore in 2025-26. This is the reason that the state government chose to ignore the manifesto promises of increasing the stipend of its flagship Mukhya Mantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100 per month and a farm loan waiver.

It can be argued that the state government didn’t have a choice, but that’s wrong; politicians always have a choice—to make worse decisions after making the bad ones. For instance, had Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party won the Delhi Assembly poll again, he would have doubled down on his freebies.

This is even though the Delhi government’s debt increased by almost 7 per cent from 2015-16 to........

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