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Ahead of the Bihar Assembly polls later this year, the Centre has announced big offerings for the politically significant state where it shares power with its key ally, Nitish Kumar's JDU. The offerings for Bihar must be seen against the backdrop of JDU's critical support to the BJP after the latter fell short of the majority mark in the general election last year.
In her eighth consecutive Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the setting up of a Makhana board in Bihar. This board will help Makhana farmers get benefits from the Centre's various schemes. The move will aid farmers in north Bihar and was welcomed with loud cheers from the treasury benches. Bihar is also set to get greenfield airports as part of a civil aviation push, Ms Sitharaman announced. She also announced a canal project in the Mithilanchal region. In the education sector, the Finance Minister said the capacity of the Indian Institute of Technology in Patna will be increased.
The big gifts for Bihar come months ahead of a significant Assembly election in the state. Nitish Kumar, who has made several flip-flops across the political divide but managed to hold on to the Chief Minister's chair, is gearing up for another poll fight. Mr Kumar's JDU, which scored 12 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, found itself in a strong position after the BJP fell short of a majority and needed the support of JDU and N Chandrababu Naidu's TDP to form the government. Mr Kumar is now reaping the dividend as the ruling BJP goes all out to ensure a victory in the upcoming state polls.
The gifts to Bihar drew a sharp response from the Opposition. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the Centre's boost for Bihar was natural because elections are due, but questioned why Andhra Pradesh had been "cruelly ignored".
"Bihar appears to have got a bonanza of announcements. It is natural since elections are due there later in the year. But why is the other pillar of the NDA, namely Andhra Pradesh, been so cruelly ignored?" he asked.