Middle class is back -- both in the Budget and political discussions

The BJP is also rediscovering this group after some years of focusing its electoral politics on courting the poor and women through direct cash benefit transfers
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and other officials outside the Finance Ministry ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget 2025-26 in New Delhi, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and other officials outside the Finance Ministry ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget 2025-26 in New Delhi, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. Photo | PTI
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NEW DELHI: The middle class has made a strong comeback in both the Budget and political discussions in the country. While countering the Aam Aadmi Party's appeal to the middle class ahead of the Delhi elections is certainly a factor, the BJP is also rediscovering this group after some years of focusing its electoral politics on courting the poor and women through direct cash benefit transfers besides getting its social engineering right.

The middle class, a key support base of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has traditionally been a stronghold of the BJP, but recently, it felt overlooked as the party has focused on other votebanks. The Union Budget on Saturday breaks with these concerns by offering significant tax relief, including a zero-tax slab for incomes up to Rs 12 lakh, benefiting a large segment of India's middle class. The government expects that the tax relief will encourage spending, thereby stimulating economic growth.

Ahead of the Budget, there were enough indications that the middle class is back in favour as a key political constituent. In her joint address to the Parliament on Friday, President Droupadi Murmu connected India's economic progress to the “aspirations” of the middle class and the importance of fulfilling those aspirations.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and other officials outside the Finance Ministry ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget 2025-26 in New Delhi, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025.
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“The bigger the dreams of the middle class are, the higher the nation soars. It is my government that has, for the first time, openly acknowledged and appreciated the contributions of the middle class on every occasion,” the President had said while listing out measures that the government had taken for them.

"I pray that Maa Lakshmi continues to bless the poor and middle class of our country," Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in his customary remarks to the media ahead of the session.

The middle class is the largest voting bloc today pegged to be around 31 per cent and a group loosely defined as those who are earning between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 30 lakh. In the 2014 election, a key focus of the BJP campaign under Narendra Modi was offering jobs and ending corruption, which resonated with middle-class voters. Previously disillusioned with politics, the middle class turned out in large numbers, seeing Modi as a game-changer. While the middle class largely remained supportive of Modi, there have been ongoing complaints that the government has not done enough to address their concerns as the party’s electoral focus has shifted.

But this year’s Budget reiterates that the government hasn’t left the middle class in the lurch. Soon after the Budget, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said: “The middle class is always in PM Modi’s heart. Zero Income Tax till ₹12 Lakh Income. The proposed tax exemption will go a long way in enhancing the financial well-being of the middle class. Congratulations to all the beneficiaries on this occasion.”

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and other officials outside the Finance Ministry ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget 2025-26 in New Delhi, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025.
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