Union Budget 2026 falls short of expectations in poll-bound West Bengal

The Union Budget 2026-27, presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, February 1, 2026, fell short of the expectations of the people of poll-bound West Bengal.

The Finance Minister announced that one of the “High Speed ​​Rail corridors” between cities as “growth connectors” will connect Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Siliguri in West Bengal. The budget also announced a new dedicated freight corridor connecting Dankuni in the East to Surat in the West.

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In her Budget speech, Ms. Sitharaman also emphasized “Purvodaya” and suggested development of an integrated East Coast Industrial Corridor with a well-connected node at Durgapur in South Bengal. The initiative proposed creating five tourism destinations in five Purvodaya States and providing 4,000 e-buses.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the Budget has nothing to offer to the people of the State. “Without direction, without vision, without mission and without action. The economy has gone off the rails. The budget is anti-poor, anti-youth, anti-women and anti-farmers. The budget is anti-SC, anti-ST and anti-OBC,” he said.

Ms. Banerjee said that the freight corridor from Dankuni mentioned in this Budget was announced by her during the 2009 Railway Budget. “I said there that I had mentioned Dankuni to Amritsar. It was pending for more than 15 years,” he said. The Prime Minister also mentioned that the markets reacted negatively to the budget.

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Speaking similarly, Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said that Ms. Sitharaman did not mention West Bengal even once in her entire speech. “In the 85-minute budget speech, there is nothing for Bengal. The Finance Minister stated that a NIMHANS institute will be set up. One of these already exists in Bengaluru and two more will be set up in Jharkhand and Assam. This means that anyone in Bengal who wants to get treatment at NIMHANS will have to travel to Assam or Jharkhand, as no institute is being set up in Bengal,” he said.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Principal Adviser to the Finance Department Amit Mitra also held a press conference and said that the NDA government has reduced budget allocation for education, fertilizer subsidy and welfare of SC, ST, OBC and Minorities. Mr. Mitra said that ideally, the allocation for education should be 6% of the total expenditure, but in reality, this percentage has come down to 2.60% in the current Budget estimates from 3.8% in 2015-16.

The BJP leadership in West Bengal has said infrastructure in rail and freight corridors will boost the state’s economy. BJP MLA and economist Ashok Lahiri held a press conference and pointed out that the Budget announcement for an ‘East Coast Industrial Corridor’ with a well-connected node at Durgapur in West Bengal was a tribute to former West Bengal Chief Minister Bidhan Chandra Roy.

Mr. Lahiri said he was not surprised by Ms. Banerjee’s remarks and asked whether his government had any plans for the development of the state. “The Union Budget is for the overall development of the country,” he said.

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Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari said the proposed Dankuni to Surat Dedicated Freight Corridor and Varanasi to Siliguri high-speed rail corridor will significantly increase the industrialization potential in West Bengal.

Elections in West Bengal are scheduled to be held in the next few months and investments, industry and employment will be the prominent issues in the Assembly polls.