Union Budget 2022-23: Poll-neutral but political subtext

Tax breaks for state govt employees and cooperatives are a move to woo these influential groups

The absence of an overt sales pitch to the five poll-bound states in the 2022-23 Budget saw Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s speech being heard in the Lok Sabha with minimal interruptions from the Opposition. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made the “double engine ki sarkar (the same government in the centre and the state)” a cause célèbre and potent campaign allurement. The Budget avoided the temptation of reaching out only to the poll-bound states and its outreach, on the face of it, seemed to be election-neutral. However, the opposition Congress said the government was selling a fantasy and should