The message that Bihar could take the centrestage in her announcements was clear when Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman wore a Madhubani sari and walked into the Parliament to present the Union Budget for 2025-26.
Bihar, where Assembly elections are due sometime during October this year, received a bonanza from the minister.
Here are the announcements.
A makhana board will be established in the state for makhana farmers, financial support for the western Kosi canal project to benefit farmers in the Mithilanchal region, enhancing the capacity of IIT Patna and a special focus on destinations related to the life and time of Gautam Buddha (which means Bodhgaya).
Also, a new National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management will be established in Bihar; IIT Patna will get an expansion of hostel and other infrastructure capacity.
Patna airport’s capacity will be expanded, a brownfield airport will be developed in Bihta and "greenfield airports will be facilitated in Bihar to meet the future needs of the state," Sitharaman said.
Announcing the setting up of the makhana board, she said: "There is a special opportunity for the people of Bihar. A makhana board will be established in the state to improve production, processing, value addition, and marketing of makhana."
People engaged in these activities will be organised into FPOs (Farmer Producer Organization), which will provide handholding and training support to makhana farmers.
These FPOs will also work to ensure they receive the benefits of all relevant government schemes, she added.
Moreover, in line with the "government's commitment towards 'Poorvodaya', we will establish a National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management in Bihar," said Sitharaman.
Under the Poorvodaya scheme, the government is formulating an all-round development of the eastern region states covering Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
"Financial support will be provided for the Western Koshi Canal ERM Project benefitting a large number of farmers cultivating over 50,000 hectares of land in the Mithilanchal region of Bihar," she said.
"Establishment of the National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management in Bihar will strengthen food processing activities in the entire eastern region and increase the income of farmers by improving the quality of their produce," Lok Jan Shakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan Paswan posted on X.
JDU working president Sanjay Jha said the makhana board will unlock new opportunities for the farmers and entrepreneurs.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh criticised the Bihar tilt in the Budget and said on X: "It is natural since elections are due there later in the year. But why is (has) the other pillar of the NDA, namely Andhra Pradesh, been so cruelly ignored?"
Bihar has been a difficult frontier for the BJP even after the Modi juggernaut started to roll in 2014.
In 2015, despite having the highest vote share (25 per cent) and winning 53 seats, the BJP lost out to the RJD-JDU alliance. The Lalu-Nitish combo won 151 out of the 243 Assembly seats.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a package of Rs 1.25 lakh crore for the state during the 2015 campaign.
“How much do you want? Rs 50,000 crore, 60,000, 70,000, 75,000, 80,000? I am announcing a package of Rs 1.25 lakh crore," Modi said at a government function in Bihar.
Lalu Prasad had severely criticised him, saying he was “bidding” for Bihar.
In 2017, Nitish broke out from the alliance with the RJD citing corruption charges against Lalu and the RJD leader’s family members, rejoined the BJP and formed the government.
In the 2020 Bihar election, in which Nitish was with the NDA, the BJP’s vote share was 19.8 per cent and they won 74 out of 243 seats in the Assembly. The RJD won 75 seats with 23.5 per cent vote share, while the JDU won 43 seats with a 15.7 per cent share.
In 2022, Nitish quit the BJP-led NDA, accusing the BJP of splitting his party, and rejoined the alliance with the Congress and the RJD. Again in 2024, he rejoined the BJP before the Lok Sabha polls.
During the last Union Budget in July 2024 as well, the Centre had announced several big-ticket measures for Bihar, proposing a total outlay of over Rs 60,000 crore for various projects, including funding for three expressways projects, a power plant, heritage corridors and new airports and sports infrastructure.