States queue up with special package demands ahead of Union Budget

Ahead of the Union Budget, when the new regime led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will present a detailed financial roadmap for the first time in its third consecutive term, the BJP leadership is under pressure from several state governments that are demanding a special package for the development of their respective states.

It’s a known fact that states like Bihar and Andhra Pradesh are expecting a special package with TDP and JDU as key allies of the BJP. However, now even the BJP-ruled states like Chhattisgarh and Haryana are also seeking special financial assistance from the Union government.

Kerala, TN also seek special aid

To add to the pressure on the Centre, non-BJP ruled states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala are demanding a special package from the NDA government. Kerala’s Finance Minister KN Balagopal has already met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and sought a special package for Rs 24,000 crore for the development of the state.

“The real problem for Kerala is that there has been a sharp decline in the funds being allocated to the state. The lack of funds also affects the development process and it is for this reason that we have demanded a special financial package of Rs 24,000 crore from the Union government,” Balagopal told The Federal.

BJP-ruled states not far behind

The biggest challenge before the Centre is that it has to please not just crucial alliance partners like the JDU and the TDP, even BJP-ruled states like Odisha, where BJP has formed a state government for the first time, Chhattisgarh, and Haryana, are asking for special financial aid.

“The Chhattisgarh government is working on a project to develop Nava Raipur Atal Nagar as the new capital of Chhattisgarh. It is being developed as the most planned and green city in the country. Several projects for roads, drinking water, power facilities and housing are being taken up with the limited resources of the state. We have requested the Union government to allocate funds for new capital, which is to be developed as a state capital region on the lines of the National Capital Region (NCR) with all modern urban facilities,” Chhattisgarh’s Finance Minister OP Choudhary told The Federal.

Seeking aid with eye on polls

With Haryana  Assembly polls just four months away, the state government has now demanded that the Centre provide special financial aid to the state for development projects. The BJP has been in power in Haryana for a decade now and senior party leaders are hoping that the development projects along with social engineering would help the party retain power for the third consecutive term.

They feel that it will help them regain ground in the aftermath of the setback in the Lok Sabha polls in which the Congress managed to win five out of 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

However, political analysts believe that while the demand for financial aid is a positive step for the development of Haryana, these demands don’t play a role in boosting poll prospects just a few months before the assembly polls. “The Haryana government is seeking additional funds with an eye on the upcoming assembly elections in the state. However, the elections are just four months away and the process for allocation of funds doesn’t move fast enough to make an impact,” Ashutosh Kumar, political science professor at Panjab University told The Federal.

Politics of special package

Interestingly, the Chhattisgarh government is not the only one in the process of building a new state capital and is looking to the Union government for financial help.

The Andhra Pradesh government, led by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, is also reviving its mega project of building a new state capital, Amravati. While Andhra Pradesh has not demanded a special financial package, the state government has informed the Union government that it does expect support for building the new state capital and funds for the Polavaram project.

Similar to the demands of the TDP, the Bihar government under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is also keen on reviving its longstanding demand for a special financial package and special status for the state.

“Both special status and special package are not new demands of the JDU and we have been seeking it for a very long time. The Union government has been intimated about these demands again. Therefore, these two demands have come up for discussion with the Centre,” senior JDU leader Mahabali Singh told The Federal.