Union Budget 2022 ahead of assembly elections in 5 states
India Today
The announcement of Union Budget 2022 days before assembly elections in five states is likely to play a big role in how the government announces its spending plan for FY23.
Union Budget 2022 is coming just days before the first phase of assembly elections in five states Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa is held on February 7. The Union Budget is likely to address some of the core political issues, particularly relating to big states such as Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
The reason is simple: these five states together elect 690 MLAs and 145 MPs (102 to the Lok Sabha and 43 to the Rajya Sabha). Additionally, one of the biggest reforms pushes undertaken by the Narendra Modi government found the strongest pushback from Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. The year-long farmers’ protest that saw the involvement of a large number of youths forced the government to retreat on its farm reforms path in November 2021.
There is a strong anticipation that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget on Tuesday would focus on farmers, youth and women, besides spelling out a financial plan to strengthen health infrastructure in poorer states such as Uttar Pradesh. The focus on health flows directly from the Covid-19 situation that Uttar Pradesh and the rest of the country have witnessed over the two years of pandemic.
The Narendra Modi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have looked defensive on the issues relating to farmers, who have organised themselves to oppose all moves to bring market-oriented reforms in the agriculture sector. Besides the three farm reforms laws, the farmers’ unions pushed the government to shelve the electricity reforms bill in its existing form.
Farmers are a dominant cross-caste community in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur too have farmers as influential voters. But in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, farmers are considered election-sensitive.
The farmers’ agitation saw several MLAs and MPs being heckled in their constituencies. Reports quoted some of the BJP leaders and rival Samajwadi Party members as saying that their party MLAs and MPs were chased away from their constituencies in western Uttar Pradesh.
