Row over Modi govt’s Budget sops for Andhra Pradesh, Bihar as poll-bound states left in cold

The Modi government’s move has sparked a political slugfest with Jharkhand Congress spokesperson R K Sinha accusing it of “strengthening its crutches” through the Budget, referring to the BJP’s critical dependence on its allies TDP and JD(U) for remaining in power.

“The people of Jharkhand are feeling betrayed by the BJP, which tries every tactic to come to power in the state but takes no special step to ensure the welfare of its people,” he said.

However, the Jharkhand BJP’s spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo refuted Sinha’s allegations, claiming that the state was availing benefits of all central schemes. “The Centre has launched a plan for tribal welfare and Jharkhand will benefit from it. The state was not mentioned in the scheme but it is covered in the Budget,” he said.

Significantly, Jharkhand is the only poll-bound state that found mention in Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech as a part of the Centre’s “Purvodaya (rise of the east)” scheme, which is aimed to ensure all-round development of eastern states like Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. Jharkhand, which has a nearly 26% tribal population, will also reap indirect benefit under the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions of tribal communities. A total of 34 of the 81 seats in the Jharkhand Assembly are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (STs).

In the recent Lok Sabha polls, the BJP saw its numbers dip by 14 seats in Maharashtra, five in Haryana, three in Jharkhand and one in Jammu and Kashmir, while the Congress saw its tally improve by 12 in Maharashtra, five in Haryana and one in Jharkhand. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), which rules Jharkhand along with the Congress and some other INDIA bloc allies, also saw its tally improve by two seats.

Currently, the BJP is in power in Haryana while in Maharashtra it rules the state as a part of the Mahayuti with the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and the NCP led by Ajit Pawar.

The Haryana BJP’s spokesperson Sanjay Sharma claimed that the Budget covered all sections of the state. “Haryana is a land of farmers, who will reap the benefits of allocations for them and the agriculture sector. Likewise, salaried people will benefit from relaxations in income tax. Youth, women and traders also will benefit. Haryana is a prosperous state with a Budget of Rs 3.5 lakh crore and this will help the people,” he said.