Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget on a Sunday morning this year, clad in a Kattam Kanjeevaram silk saree from Tamil Nadu. Kanjeevaram sarees are traditional handwoven silks known for their rich texture and craftsmanship. Tamil Nadu, along with Kerala, West Bengal, Puducherry, and Assam, is among the states heading to Assembly polls later this year.
This apart, there seemed no “state-specific bonanzas” for the poll-bound regions in Sitharaman’s ninth consecutive Budget, framed around “three kartavyas and seven strategic and frontier sectors.”
As the BJP prepares for five Assembly polls and battles upper-caste discontent,the Union Budget surprisingly had no clear political message.
The speech did not specifically address poll-bound states, allies, or the middle class. There was no income tax relief; the only measure for salaried citizens was a promise of simplified tax forms for easier compliance. The FM did not even mention West Bengal, as TMC MPs also pointed.
Maintaining a rather non-populist tone, the FM’s priority was infrastructure, manufacturing, technology, and energy security amid global headwinds such as supply chain disruptions and energy volatility. Stock markets reacted negatively, with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty slipping after the government raised the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on commodity futures.
Responding to questions on the absence of special sops for election-bound states, Sitharaman said: “I think there is enough to cover all the election states. If I do, you will ask me why have I done it only for the election states. Now I have it for election and non-election states as well. You want me to spell out what has been done only for the election states, I am quite happy to do it.”
Instead, she highlighted her Budget’s inclusive approach, pointing to major announcements that also benefit poll-bound states such as freight corridors for West Bengal, rare earth corridors for Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and infrastructure projects for Assam and Puducherry—underlining the Centre’s emphasis on equitable development across states, irrespective of political considerations.
Against the backdrop of geopolitical challenges, the Budget for 2026–27 focuses on scaling up manufacturing in seven strategic and frontier sectors, including biopharma, semiconductors, and electronic components. It proposed dedicated rare earth corridors in mineral-rich states such as Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu to promote mining, processing, research, and manufacturing, aiming to reduce reliance on China. There is also a scheme to support states in setting up three chemical parks and strengthening the Capital Goods Capability Integrated Programme for the textile sector.
For states, plans include new Dedicated Freight Corridors connecting Dankuni in the east to Surat in the west, 20 new National Waterways, a Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme to ensure long-term energy security, and seven high-speed rail corridors—Mumbai–Pune; Pune–Hyderabad; Hyderabad–Bengaluru; Hyderabad–Chennai; Chennai–Bengaluru; Delhi–Varanasi; and Varanasi–Siliguri. Sitharaman cited these projects as evidence of the Budget’s inclusive framework, benefiting poll-bound states.
The Budget positioned the government as a steward of its “Viksit Bharat 2047” vision, while subtly reaching out to voters in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, and Assam ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. There were no headline-grabbing dole announcements, but schemes like the Self-Help Entrepreneur (SHE) initiative for rural women aimed to bridge urban–rural divides, observers say.
West Bengal—ruled by the Trinamool Congress and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee—was allocated enhanced freight corridors from Dankuni and improved rail connectivity, including links aligned with the Varanasi corridor. For Kerala and Tamil Nadu, rare earth projects were positioned as part of a national strategy to reduce dependence on China’s mineral dominance. Kerala also saw eco-tourism initiatives, including turtle beach conservation.
In all, there were subtle boosts for West Bengal (freight corridors, high-speed rail), Tamil Nadu and Kerala (rare earth corridors), and embedding regional projects in national corridors. Sectoral announcements, like those on coconut, cashew, and sandalwood, seemed targeted at Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
“We are laying the path and giving a push to the economy to maintain the growth momentum and for that growth momentum or sustained economic growth which we want to ensure. Primarily, we are looking at building the ecosystem with structural reforms, which will go on. Reforms have been carried out. We are continuing to do the reform activities,” said Sitharaman.