Affidavits will not fix freebies

In what appears to be yet another effort to tackle the problem of freebies, the Election Commission of India has proposed – views of political parties have been sought on the issue – an amendment to the Model Code of Conduct for elections. The proposed amendment asks that political parties come clean on the fiscal costs of political promises made during elections. The growing political tendency to use freebies does pose a threat to India’s long-term fiscal health; and by extension, the economic fortunes of our future generations. For example, research by political scientist Milan Vaishnav has shown that voters elect candidates with criminal backgrounds – an earlier ECI decision has made it mandatory for candidates to disclose criminal cases against them – being fully aware of their criminal antecedents, and even hoping to benefit from their strongman traits.