From loan waivers to tax cuts, parties woo voters ahead of 2019 election

Indian politicians are bringing out the goodies, from farm-loan waivers to tax cuts, to woo voters ahead of the world’s biggest election next year.

The Indian National Congress made good on its election promise by waiving some loans owed by farmers in two of the three states that it won last week from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. Assam, a state in India’s northeast ruled by the BJP, followed suit.

While Modi has so far held back on announcing a federal program to waive farm loans, the temptation to appease voters was evident when he hinted this week