Punjab polls 2017: Populist policies led to economic slowdown, joblessness

The state will vote on February 4, 2017, to choose a new government

The growth of its industries, services and overall economy is 5.9%, which lags the national average of 7.6%, the unemployment rate among its youth is 16.6% while the Indian average is 10.2%, and while literacy is rising, the education system is faltering with the dropout rate increasing from 1.3% in 2014-15 to 3.1% in 2015-16 for the primary level.

It is against this economic backdrop that 19.74 million (roughly equal to the population of Romania) voters in India’s 11th-richest state, Punjab, will vote on February 4, 2017, to choose a new government in a state where