Coming at a time when the BJP is preparing for five Assembly polls, and is battling palpable “upper caste” angst over the now-stayed UGC equity regulations 2026, the Union Budget did not seem to have a clear political message, and did not visibly focus on either poll-bound states or allies, or the middle classes, which constitute the opinion-making section among the so-called upper castes.
There were stray announcements that seemed to serve political optics, but these largely fell short of delivering any decisive message.
At a time of signs of disquiet for the “upper castes”, the oldest traditional vote of the BJP, the Budget announced no income tax relief. This was in contrast to the income tax relief announced last year. While her last budget speech mentioned the word “middle class” seven times, Sitharaman’s Budget speech this time made no mention of the middle class. Her only announcement for the salaried class was that simplified Income Tax forms and rules would be notified shortly, and “the forms have been redesigned such that ordinary citizens can comply without difficulty”.
The year 2026 will witness Assembly elections in Assam, where the BJP has been strong over the last decade; Bengal, a state where the BJP has improved its performance but fallen short of getting the better of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) either in state or Lok Sabha polls; Tamil Nadu, where the BJP has been very weak; and Kerala, where the BJP has been weak, albeit with some green shoots in the Thiruvanthapuram municipal corporation polls; and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
However, the Budget speech does not mention the word Bengal even once – though it mentions Siliguri and Durgapur in the state – mentions Assam just once, and that too in the context of a planned Buddhist circuit – refers to Tamil Nadu twice, Kerala twice and Puducherry not even once.
Last year, the Budget speech had mentioned poll-bound Bihar six times, apart from separate mention of Mithilanchal (north Bihar) and also destinations associated with the Buddha.
Budget 2026-27 makes no mention of Bihar, where the NDA has won a decisive majority months ago. Andhra Pradesh, another key state for the NDA due to ally TDP’s strong presence there, is mentioned twice. Last year, Andhra was not mentioned even once and Jairam Ramesh had flagged the fact, contrasting it with the focus on Bihar.
The 2026-27 budget speech just touches upon these poll-bound states without any clear bonanza being promised.
One promise pertained to addressing coconut and cashew production, which seemed to send a message to Kerala and Tamil Nadu, among other states. “About 30 million people, including nearly 10 million farmers, depend on coconuts for their livelihood. To further enhance competitiveness in coconut production, I propose a Coconut Promotion Scheme to increase production and enhance productivity through various interventions 16 including replacing old and non-productive trees with new saplings/plants/varieties in major coconut growing States,” Sitharaman said, adding, “A dedicated programme is proposed for Indian cashew and cocoa to make India self-reliant in raw cashew and cocoa production and processing, enhance export competitiveness and transform Indian Cashew and Indian Cocoa into premium global brands by 2030.”
Another announcement pertained to sandalwood, where, too, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are important producers. “Our government will partner with state governments to promote focused cultivation and post-harvest processing to restore the glory of the Indian Sandalwood ecosystem,” Sitharaman said without mentioning the states.
Yet another promise pertained to rare earths in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
“Scheme for Rare Earth Permanent Magnets was launched in November 2025. We now propose to support the mineral-rich States of Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to establish dedicated Rare Earth Corridors to promote mining, processing, research and manufacturing,” Sitharaman said. Among the three All-India Institutes for Ayurveda promised, one could be in Kerala.
There were also references to poll-bound states in provision of a high-speed train corridor. “We will develop seven High-Speed Rail corridors between cities as ‘growth connectors’, namely Mumbai–Pune, Pune-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Bengaluru, Hyderabad-Chennai, Chennai-Bengaluru, Delhi-Varanasi, Varanasi-Siliguri,” Sitharaman announced, with two of the corridors touching Chennai and one Siliguri in West Bengal.
Obliquely referring to Bengal, the Budget promised “an integrated East Coast Industrial Corridor with a well-connected node at Durgapur, creation of five tourism destinations in the five Purvodaya states, and the provision of 4,000 e-buses”.
Assam gains some traction in the context of the North East’s development framework, without a specific focus. The Finance Minister named Assam in a proposed scheme for the Development of Buddhist Circuits in several northeastern states to support preservation of heritage sites, improve connectivity and enhance pilgrim amenities. It’s implicitly covered under the broader North Eastern Region emphasis, including support for high-value agriculture initiatives like Agar tree cultivation, as part of efforts to create local employment and value chains across hilly and hilly-fringe areas. The state has also been proposed to receive a branch of mental health institute NIMHANS at Tezpur.
Last year, poll-bound Bihar was promised far more. The promises included a National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management as part of “Purvodaya” (rise of eastern India), a Makhana Board, greenfield airports and expansion of the Patna airport. It promised assistance for the western Koshi canal project in Mithilanchal, meaning north Bihar, and augmentation of infrastructure at IIT Patna.
The 2026-2027 Budget did not include any direct, state-specific financial outlays exclusively for Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal or Assam. Importantly, none of the announcements in the Budget contain standalone budget lines for specific states. Instead, these states feature within multi-state schemes, regional corridors and thematic programmes, reflecting an approach that ties local priorities into larger strategic frameworks such as industrial competitiveness, sustainable tourism and heritage circuit development.
After much Opposition criticism of Mahatma Gandhi’s name being taken off a major government initiative
by replacing MGNREGA with VB G RAM G Act, the Budget brought Gandhi back. “I propose to launch the Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj initiative to strengthen khadi, handloom and handicrafts. This will help in global market linkage and branding,” Sitharaman said.
In what was largely a policy-driven budget speech with few cultural references — a departure from the norm — Sitharaman chose to wear a Kanjivaram sari, a sartorial nod that would carry symbolic resonance for southern states, even as the speech itself stayed narrowly focused on economic priorities rather than cultural themes.
