MUMBAI: Ahead of the key Lok Sabha and state assembly elections, Maharashtra Finance Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also deputy CM, tried to do social engineering through his state annual budget 2022-23.
Fadnavis, a top BJP leader, in his budget has tried to touch upon all communities by announcing schemes constituting the development co-operation boards. So, no one is left out in BJP’s social engineering in Maharashtra like the state that elects a total of 48 LS members, the highest after Uttar Pradesh.
After toppling Uddhav Thackeray's government and forming a new government with Eknath Shinde, BJP has got the power but politically it’s on a sticky wicket. The majority of communities are alienated from it as seen in the Kasabha Peth byelections which were won by Congress candidate Ravindra Dhangekar making inroads into the RSS-BJP bastion. Fadnavis announced ‘Anandacha Shidha’ that will be distributed to more than Rs 1.63 crore families at a cost of Rs 473 crore on the occasion of Gudi Padwa--Ambedkar Jayanti.
Interestingly, the finance minister did not announce a specific amount for the boards, but said adequate provision will be made for BARTI, Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Research Training and Human Development Institute (SARATHI), Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Research and Training Institute (Mahajyoti), among others.