The Padma Awards 2026, announced on the eve of Republic Day, have triggered a political backlash, with opposition parties accusing the Narendra Modi government of turning national honours into a tool of political signalling.
While the awards list features cross-party gestures, including posthumous honours for veteran CPM leader V.S. Achuthanandan and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha founder Shibu Soren, the inclusion of Bhagat Singh Koshyari and the regional awardees have emerged as flashpoints.
The fiercest reaction has come from Maharashtra, where the Padma Bhushan for former Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has reopened old political wounds.
His tenure as governor between 2019 and 2023 was marked by controversy over his remarks on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and social reformer Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, as well as his role in the 2019 swearing-in of the Devendra Fadnavis government.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut called his award “an insult to Maharashtra,” alleging that the Centre had rewarded a figure who had demeaned the state’s icons and constitutional values.
The Congress echoed the criticism, with Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad calling the decision an affront to Maharashtrian pride.
Senior Congress leader Harshwardhan Sapkal said he had once declined an award from a Pune-based organisation because it was to be presented by Koshyari, whom he accused of having “hurt the soul of Maharashtra.”
Koshyari has dismissed the criticism. “I do not work for anyone’s appreciation or criticism,” he said, identifying himself as a worker of the RSS and asserting that “Bharat Mata is everything” for him.
Beyond Maharashtra, opposition leaders have alleged that the Centre tilted the awards towards states heading to the polls in 2026.
Awards to people in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam have prompted charges of “election engineering”.
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram alleged that the government deliberately prioritised individuals from poll-bound states to maximise political visibility.
Taking a swipe at the BJP’s push for simultaneous elections, he wrote on social media: “If there was One Nation One Election, it would be so complicated for the Government to choose Padma Award recipients! Now it’s so much simpler, just choose persons from poll-bound states.”
Chidambaram also pointed to Kerala, noting that three of the five Padma Vibhushan recipients this year were from the state, which is due to go to the polls.
Opposition-aligned analysts have further argued that while these poll-bound states account for roughly 18 per cent of India’s population, they secured nearly 37 per cent of the awards, reinforcing allegations of a political quota.
The government’s decision to honour ideological adversaries posthumously has elicited mixed responses.
The Padma Vibhushan for V.S. Achuthanandan placed the CPM in a delicate position, given its long-standing aversion to state honours.
CPM state secretary M.V. Govindan said the party would leave the decision to the family since the award was posthumous.
Achuthanandan’s son, V.A. Arun Kumar, said the family accepted the honour with pride, calling it “a recognition from the country” that was “priceless.”
In Jharkhand, Chief Minister Hemant Soren welcomed the Padma Bhushan for his father Shibu Soren but raised the bar by saying the JMM founder deserved the Bharat Ratna.
The BJP has dismissed the opposition’s criticism as petty politics. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the Modi government had democratised the Padma Awards by recognising “unsung heroes” across fields, irrespective of political affiliation.
Party sources pointed to the inclusion of figures such as Achuthanandan and Shibu Soren to counter allegations of partisanship, insisting that the selection was merit-based and that critics were unable to separate national service from political disagreement.