Indian voters are far too cynical and experienced to be bought by a few pre-election goodies in the budget. Without exception, every finance minister in the Centre and states feels obliged to offer some pre-election goodies in his last budget. In none of these states has victory depended in the slightest on last-minute goodies in the final budget. Interest will be waived for 60 days on farm loans for the rabi crop.All these goodies could have been announced in the Budget. So much for Election Commission attempts to ensure fairness through deadlines, or the notion that budgets are the sole or main occasions for announcing pre-election goodies.

Source: Economic Times January 15, 2017 05:40 UTC