India, Feb. 28 -- An election-year budget in Punjab is expected to lean toward populism, with the much-talked-about popular scheme of giving an allowance of Rs.1,000 to each eligible woman of Punjab is likely to be rolled out in the budget, involving an estimated Rs.12,000 crore per year. The budget will also require provision of funds for meeting financial obligations under the "Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana", which provides cashless medical treatment worth Rs.10 lakh per family annually, covering 65 lakh families.

Announcing such popular schemes in an election-year budget is a common practice among political parties in India. Theoretically, this behaviour is explained by public choice theory. According to this theory, politicians endeavour ...