India, March 11 -- Four months after winning the Maharashtra assembly elections on the back of a slew of populist schemes, the Mahayuti government's first budget after retaining power reflected an estimated debt of Rs.9,32,242 crore for the financial year 2025-26, which is the highest in the state's history. The budget also estimates a fiscal deficit of a whopping Rs.1.36 lakh crore and a revenue deficit of Rs.45,892 crore, which are unprecedented and even higher than during the Covid-19 period.

Populist schemes worth Rs.96,000 crore announced in last year's budget in June, weeks after the Mahayuti alliance received a drubbing in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, have left the state's economy bleeding. This appears to have stopped the Devend...