Despite massive mandate to BJP, Odisha left disappointed by Union Budget-2025

Former state Finance minister Panchanan Kanungo accused the Centre of prioritising poll-bound states.
disha’s high expectations from the Union Budget on the back of the massive mandate given by the people to BJP in last year’s general elections seemed to have come cropper.
disha’s high expectations from the Union Budget on the back of the massive mandate given by the people to BJP in last year’s general elections seemed to have come cropper.Photo | PTI
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BHUBANESWAR: Odisha’s high expectations from the Union Budget on the back of the massive mandate given by the people to BJP in last year’s general elections seemed to have come cropper as no specific allocations or special package were announced for the state by Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Despite Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s strong push for central support for attaining the goal of Viksit Odisha set by the party, the state found no mention in the Finance minister’s budget speech even as targeted interventions were announced for Bihar, Assam, Gujarat, and the northeastern states.

At the pre-budget consultation meeting, presided over by Sitharaman at Jaisalmer on December 20, Majhi had urged her to provide financial support for tourism infrastructure, expedite projects like Sagarmala initiative, East Coast Economic Corridor, National Waterway-5 and enhancing Paradip Port’s container handling capacity.

Referring to the special mention made by the Union Finance minister in her budget speech of 2024-25 about the tourism potential of the state, the chief minister had presented the state’s requirement of around Rs 10,000 crore for developing world-class tourism infrastructure and an ecosystem to attract investment to Odisha to implement Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to make the state a growth engine of the country.

He had also sought central assistance for urbanisation efforts, industrial township development and inclusion of Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar’s backward blocks - home to PVTGs - in the aspirational blocks programme. However, they seemed to have been ignored, fuelling criticism that the state continues to be overlooked in dedicated central allocations.

Former state Finance minister Panchanan Kanungo accused the Centre of prioritising poll-bound states. “While Bihar and Assam received special allocations, Gujarat got incentives. But Odisha, which gave BJP a massive mandate in 2024, has been left out. People of the state continue to be victims of political discrimination. At least, a special package for disaster management was badly needed,” he said.

A BJP leader acknowledged that the state expected more, especially after being stressed by the PM as the growth engine for Viksit Bharat. “There is no doubt that Odisha will benefit significantly from the new schemes introduced, but specific allocations would have strengthened our economy,” he said.

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