Poll promises may remain on paper in Punjab

While the Congress has made a plethora of promises, it is hamstrung by a bankrupt treasury

The Congress, which has formed the government in Punjab, had made four big promises in its election manifesto for the state. Those were waiving agriculture debt, providing a job for a member of every household, ending the vicious cycle of debt, and freeing the state of the drug menace in the first four weeks of governance.

The financial health of the state suggests it will be an uphill task for the new Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, and his Finance Minister, Manpreet Singh Badal, the estranged nephew of former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, to even get close to what they