#Budget #Budget2019 #BJP #NarendraModi
The BJP unveiled a populist budget Friday with the hope that the new sops will garner votes for the party in the upcoming elections. In fact, union ministers – Jayant Sinha and Ram Vilas Paswan – claimed that the budget will help the National Democratic Alliance cross 400 seats. The prevailing sentiment among analysts is that the budget made for good politics by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
This stems from a common belief in Indian politics that handouts help win elections. In our opinion, there is no evidence that handouts and populist budgets have had an impact on the vote share of a party in an upcoming election. These handouts may not get Narendra Modi or the BJP any more votes than they would have received otherwise. Announcing populist elements in the budget are like throwing darts in the dark, which is why this budget may not necessarily be good politics.
The argument that handouts win elections rests on an elementary yet fallacious idea that ‘money given before an election’ helps a party win elections. The Congress party, while ridiculing the budget, made similar promises a few days ago when it said it would implement a minimum income guarantee scheme for the poor if elected to power.
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