Don't compare with Bihar, Bengal has received a lot: Samik Bhattacharya defends budget
Telegraph | 2 February 2026
The absence of a special package for Bengal in Sunday’s Union budget has caused major embarrassment for the state BJP ahead of the Assembly elections, with the party fielding its leaders to defend the allocations and argue that Bengal was not deprived.
However, speaking off the record, many within the BJP leadership admitted that a special announcement for Bengal could have helped them woo voters, especially when the Narendra Modi government had shown keen interest in Bihar in last year's budget before the state polls there.
Stoutly defending the budget, Samik Bhattacharya, the Bengal BJP president, said: “Today’s budget is growth-oriented. It has addressed people from different sections of society. The budget has focused on sectors like jute, handloom and girls’ hostels, among others. Bengal has also received a lot, including the freight corridors and fresh funds for three Metro lines."
When asked if the Centre could have announced a special package for poll-bound Bengal like it did for Bihar, also facing state elections last year, Bhattacharya, also a Rajya Sabha member, defended the budget by describing Bihar’s situation as completely different.
“The Bihar issue is completely different. The state is surrounded by several states and shares a border with Nepal. So, the perspective behind providing grants to Bihar was different. It’s not that Bengal is getting nothing. Bengal has received a lot from today’s budget,” he said.
Before the Bihar polls, the Union Budget 2025–26 had given the state a special boost with thousands of crores allocated for Bihar-specific development initiatives, such as schemes to promote the makhana (foxnut) industry, Madhubani saris and the Western Koshi Canal project. Many in the Bengal BJP said that the financial assistance extended to small-scale industries, farmers and artisans in Bihar helped the BJP-led NDA secure a massive victory there in 2025.
Before this year’s budget was tabled, many Bengal BJP leaders had been hopeful of similar surprise announcements for the poll-bound state "to help in voter outreach in the coming months".
On Sunday morning, several leaders gathered at the party’s Salt Lake office in Calcutta to listen to the budget speech, eagerly waiting for what Bengal would receive.
Although Bengal has received three infrastructure projects — the Dankuni-Surat Freight Corridor, a high-speed rail corridor between Varanasi and Siliguri, and a link connecting Durgapur with the East Coast Industrial Corridor — there was no eye-catching announcement specifically meant for the state.
Ashok Lahiri, economist and BJP MLA from Balurghat, however, attempted to justify the lack by saying that the budget must focus on all 28 states rather than any one, though it can address special issues like makhana, which is produced mainly in Bihar.
“India has a federal structure and there are 28 states. If one state is given such funds, others will demand the same. Just as the judiciary must be blind while delivering justice, the Union budget also has to be somewhat bias-free,” said Lahiri.
“However, in the case of makhana, Bihar is its main producer in the country. It is a growing industry, so Bihar’s case is different. In Bengal, when Ayushman Bharat was first introduced, it was initially accepted. However, later ₹170 crore under the scheme was returned. It was like someone refusing to do the work and also not allowing others to do it,” he added in a jibe directed at chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
Political observers, however, said that the granting of large special packages to Bihar as well as Andhra Pradesh in last year's Union budget was driven by the BJP's political compulsions in the Centre after the 2024 Lok Sabha poll outcome, as the Modi government had to support key allies like the JDU and TDP from those states.
“It was not only Bihar; a special package was given to Andhra Pradesh as well. This was done to support ally parties out of compulsion. Currently, Narendra Modi does not face such compulsions after winning several states in a row. So, he did not provide any special package to any poll-bound state,” said political scientist Biswanath Chakraborty.