It will be a litmus test for the NDA ‘coalition dharma’ when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents her seventh Union Budget on July 23 later this month. Expectations are high for the first full Budget of Modi 3.0, alliance partners TDP and JD(U) have sought special focus from Sitharaman.
According to a Bloomberg report, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who recently flew down to Delhi to meet PM Narendra Modi and Sitharaman, has asked for Rs 1 lakh crore ($12 billion) handout in the Union Budget 2024. The Bloomberg report further said that PM Modi has give an ‘in principle’ approval for financial aid for Andhra Pradesh.
With 16 Lok Sabha seats, Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party is the biggest ally in the NDA. Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), on the other hand, is the second largest ally with 12 seats. The Bloomberg report also added that JD(U) has demanded Rs 30,000 crore in the Union Budget 2024.
These two are critical to BJP’s rule at the Centre. Because unlike the last two General Elections, the BJP could not reach the majority mark on its own. This time, the BJP won 240 Lok Sabha seats.