No big-ticket sops for poll-bound states in Budget 2026, unlike previous years
Five years ago, West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala found special mentions in the Budget. This time, the Centre has been more muted.
The previous two Budgets had triggered political rows for their special emphasis on Bihar, which went to the polls late last year. Ahead of Assembly elections in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, the Union Budget made little to no mention of these poll-bound states, in a departure from five years ago, when they had received major allocations. The previous two Budgets had triggered political rows for their special emphasis on Bihar, which went to the polls late last year.
This year, Assam is among the six states where Buddhist circuits will be established, while a Centre-run mental health infrastructure in Tezpur will get strengthened. Chennai and Siliguri in north Bengal were announced as hubs for high-speed rail corridors, while Kerala and Tamil Nadu will be part of a rare earth metals mining scheme, though no specific allocations were announced.
These announcements pale in comparison to the many previous instances under the NDA and UPA governments when poll-bound states received major allocations or special projects.
NDA years
In the 72 Assembly elections since 2014 (counting those happening this year), the Union Budget made specific allocations or announcements for 21 poll-bound states. Here are some instances:
2025-26: Ahead of the Delhi and Bihar Assembly elections, the Budget made special announcements for Bihar, just as it had the previous year when the third Narendra Modi government came to power after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, while targeting Delhi with sops for the middle class. Bihar got a Makhana Board, a National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management, financial support for the Western Koshi Canal ERM Project for farmers in the Mithilanchal region, and funds for new airports and the expansion of Patna airport.
2024-25: While the interim Budget made no specific allocations for eight poll-bound states, the Budget that followed the NDA win in the Lok Sabha polls made special announcements for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, where NDA constituents TDP and JD(U) ensured that the alliance crossed the majority mark in the Lower House.
The Budget allocated Rs 15,000 crore for the development of Andhra Pradesh’s own capital and committed to provide funds for the Polavaram Irrigation Project and the Vishakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor. Bihar, despite its elections being over a year away at the time, received Rs 26,000 crore for major road connectivity projects, Rs 21,400 crore for power projects, and Rs 11,500 crore for irrigation infrastructure.
However, none of the other poll-bound states – Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra – received any special allocations.
2023-24: For Karnataka and Telangana, among the nine states where Assembly polls were scheduled that year, the Budget made a special allocation of Rs 5,300 crore for the Upper Bhadra Project to irrigate drought-prone areas of central Karnataka, besides designating Hyderabad’s Indian Institute of Millet Research as a “Centre of Excellence”. However, there were no specific announcements for Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, all of which held Assembly polls that year.
2021-22: Five years ago, it was a bumper Budget for this year’s poll-bound states. The Budget allocated an additional Rs 34,000 crore for national highway projects in Assam, noting that projects worth Rs 19,000 crore were already underway. The Budget also provided Rs 1,000 crore for the welfare of tea plantation workers in Assam and West Bengal, which also received Rs 25,000 crore for highway projects.
Kerala received Rs 65,000 crore for its highway projects, Tamil Nadu Rs 1.03 lakh crore for several highway corridors besides Rs 63,246 crore for the second phase of the Chennai Metro. Chennai was also selected as one of five coastal cities where major fishing harbours would be set up.
2018-19: The Budget allocated Rs 17,000 crore to expand suburban transport in Bengaluru ahead of the Karnataka elections. But there were no announcements for eight other poll-bound states.
2017-18: With Gujarat among seven states headed to polls that year, it was the only one that found special mention in the Budget. Among other things, the state got its own AIIMS.
2016-17: It was a barren year as none of Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Puducherry or Tamil Nadu received any special allocations.
2015-16: While there were no major announcements for Delhi, the Budget announced it would set up an AIIMS in Bihar and provide special assistance, as recommended by the Finance Commission, to the state government.
2014-15: In the Modi government’s first Budget after coming to power, states with elections in the latter half of the year — Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Jharkhand — found mention. J&K was given an IIT, and Maharashtra an IIM and an AIIMS in Vidarbha. The government also allocated Rs 200 crore for a horticulture university in Haryana and an agricultural research institute in Jharkhand for an initial outlay of Rs 100 crore. J&K also received Rs 50 crore for a pashmina promotion programme and Rs 200 crore for new sports facilities.
UPA years
In the 70 Assembly elections held during the Congress-led UPA years at the Centre, Union Budgets made specific allocations or announcements for 24 poll-bound states. Here are some instances:
2014-15: In the interim Budget before the Lok Sabha polls, Maharashtra was the only poll-bound state to find mention. The Budget announced eight new manufacturing zones along the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor with the aim of creating 100 million jobs over the next decade.
2013-14: The UPA government’s last full Budget came in a year with nine state elections. Chhattisgarh was an area of focus, with the government allocating Rs 1,000 crore to boost the green revolution in four eastern states, and establishing a National Institute of Biotic Stress Management in Raipur. The Budget also announced 3,000 km of road projects, including for Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
2011-12: While Assam and West Bengal received Rs 400 crore for improvements to rice cultivation, Kerala and Tamil Nadu got several new universities, including a centre of the Aligarh Muslim University in Malappuram for Rs 50 crore. Bengal’s IIT-Kharagpur also received a one-time grant of Rs 200 crore, while the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University received a grant of Rs 100 crore. The Budget also committed to providing funds for metro projects in Kolkata and Chennai.
2008-09: Chhattisgarh and Karnataka were among five states that got “Ultra Mega Power Projects”, Rajasthan was selected as the site of a new IIT, while Madhya Pradesh was granted a new IISER and a School of Planning and Architecture.
2006-07: Jammu and Kashmir, under its special assistance, received Rs 2,300 crore, including Rs 1,300 for power sector reforms. The Budget also announced 1,000 km of new expressways, including the Bengaluru-Chennai and Kolkata-Dhanbad corridors, aimed at Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Tea-growing Assam, Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala also received Rs 100 crore for the first year of a 15-year rejuvenation project.
2005-06: Bihar was one of three poll-bound states that received special allocations that year. The state also received funding of Rs 232 crore for flood prevention efforts.
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