Two days before the Union Budget was presented in Parliament, a grassroots source predicted that the budget would bear the mark of Chandrababu Naidu. By Tuesday afternoon, it was clear that the Naidu-Nitish duo had indeed made the budget focused on Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.
The capital of Andhra Pradesh, Amaravati, which was a ghost town until June 4th, will now receive a special financial aid of Rs 15,000 crore this year. This will be facilitated by the central government through multilateral development agencies. Additionally, provisions have been made for extra funds in the future. The Polavaram irrigation project also received commitment for financing and swift completion in the House.
Funds will be provided for infrastructure development at the Kopparthi node on the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor and the Orvakal node in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor. Grants for the backward areas of Rayalaseema and Northern Coastal Andhra have also been announced.
Funds for various sectors in Bihar
Rs 26,000 crore will be invested in highway development in Bihar. The budget speech also mentioned Bihar, and funds were allocated for temples, flood management, irrigation, and industrial nodes.
Politically speaking, this is great news for Naidu. Unlike during the Vajpayee era, when Naidu played a crucial role in the NDA and was often seen campaigning in the national capital to secure funds for rice and United Andhra Pradesh, Naidu's stature has been weakening in Modi's third term.
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Naidu's image will be strengthened
The decisions made in the budget brought relief to Naidu. Instead of demanding more ministries in the Lok Sabha Speaker's position or the Union Council of Ministers for the TDP's MPs, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh secured funds for his state. Politically, this is a chance for Naidu to boast at home and discourage the already desperate YSRCP. This will also strengthen Naidu's image as a development-focused leader, enabling him to sell jobs dreams to people, especially in the backward Rayalaseema region.
That's why within minutes of the announcement, Naidu thanked the Prime Minister and Finance Minister on social media with the hashtag #APBackonTrack. The timing couldn't have been better. YSRCP leaders, along with YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, are sitting in peaceful protests in the national capital against the alleged TDP-inspired politically motivated attacks on YSRCP workers in Andhra Pradesh.
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What Jagan couldn’t do, Naidu did
Naidu will be seen as the one who achieved everything for Andhra Pradesh that Jagan, despite being close to Narendra Modi since 2019, couldn't do between 2019 and 2024. The political impact of Naidu's 16 MPs in the previous Lok Sabha was greater than Jagan's 22 MPs.
However, the YSRCP did not stop criticizing the TDP for conveniently getting Rs 15,000 crore while allocating Rs 26,000 crore for Bihar. By calling the budget proposals symbolic, the YSRCP pointed out that Amaravati needs Rs 1.5 lakh crore for construction. The TDP defended itself by arguing that the nature of the funds, whether loan or grant, doesn’t matter as long as it aids immediate development.
Rajnath Gandhi's allegations get stronger
Despite YSRCP’s criticism, the budget announcements bolstered the narrative of a double-engine government in Andhra Pradesh, emphasizing that when the same party governs at both state and center levels, it accelerates ground-level development. However, this also raises the question of why this wasn’t done in the last decade.
After all, between 2014 and 2018, when Naidu was part of the NDA, no one stopped the BJP from granting similar generous benefits. The Modi government could have helped Jagan's regime with this generosity, considering his considerable support for the BJP at the center, but chose not to.
This strengthens Rahul Gandhi's claim that this is a 'seat-saving' budget and a political compulsion for the BJP, below 272, to keep its two most significant allies happy.
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While no one will be unhappy with Andhra Pradesh and Bihar receiving a large portion of the national budget, states like Maharashtra may feel neglected. Discontent from states like Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Bengal is also being heard. It will be challenging for the BJP to satisfy other states, as it currently appears that the support given to Amaravati and Patna is seen as exercising their right in return for the support New Delhi has provided, making the budget seem like an insurance policy.
