- AP Budget 2025-26 exposes broken promises
The people of Andhra Pradesh have once again found themselves at the receiving end of grand promises turned into grand betrayals. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, long heralded as a political maestro, has delivered what critics are calling a masterclass in deception with the state’s 2025-26 budget. Tagged with the biting slogan “Babu Surety – Mosam, Vanchana Guarantee” (Babu Surety: A Guarantee of Fraud and Deception), this budget has become a mirror reflecting unfulfilled promises, slashed allocations, and a government accused of cheating every section of society.
Betrayal across all sections
From women to youth, farmers to the elderly, and marginalized communities like BCs, SCs, and STs, no group has been spared the sting of this budget’s alleged deceit. The coalition government, led by Naidu, had stormed to power with a manifesto boasting 143 promises, including the much-touted “Super Six” schemes. Yet, a year into its tenure, the budget has left these assurances in tatters.
Take the promise of free bus travel for women- a flagship pledge repeated at every doorstep during the election campaign. The government dangled deadlines like Dasara, Deepavali, and Sankranti, only to let the scheme vanish into thin air, with no mention in the budget.
Similarly, the vow to provide Rs. 1,500 monthly (Rs. 18,000 annually) to every woman under the Aadabidda Nidhi scheme has evaporated, leaving millions of women disillusioned. For SC, ST, and BC communities, the promise of pensions at age 50, amounting to Rs. 48,000 annually, has been quietly shelved. And the youth? The pledge of Rs. 3,000 monthly unemployment allowance (Rs. 36,000 yearly) remains a distant dream, unacknowledged by the state’s fiscal blueprint.
Super Six: A Super Letdown
The “Super Six” promises Naidu’s electoral trump card were dangled before voters like bonds of trust. Pamphlets and guarantees were distributed by MLA candidates, assuring swift implementation. Today, those bonds lie discarded in the trash, alongside the hopes of Andhra’s electorate. Of the six schemes, only two, Annadata Sukhibhava (support for farmers) and Thalli Ki Vandanam (support for mothers), received lip-service announcements. Even then, the allocations tell a story of betrayal.
For Thalli Ki Vandanam, Naidu promised Rs.15,000 per child annually to support education from Class 1 to Intermediate, with 83 lakh students in the state, which should cost Rs. 12,450 crore. Yet, the budget allocates a paltry Rs. 8,278 crore, leaving parents to shoulder the burden of their children’s education. The previous Amma Vodi scheme, which aided mothers, has been axed without a word on pending dues worth Rs. 12,500 crore from last year.
Farmers, too, have been dealt a blow. Under Annadata Sukhibhava, Naidu assured Rs. 20,000 annually per farmer, over and above the central PM-Kisan scheme. With an estimated need of Rs. 10,706 crore, the budget allocates just Rs. 6,300 crore, a shortfall that hints at either fewer beneficiaries or slashed aid, leaving cultivators cheated.
Deepam Scheme: A flicker of hope extinguished
The Deepam scheme, promising three free gas cylinders annually to 1.54 crore households, required Rs. 4,115 crore. Instead, the budget offers Rs. 2,601 crore. Last year, despite grand announcements, only one cylinder was delivered instead of three, a sleight of hand that left women fuming. This year’s allocation confirms the government’s intent to keep the promise half-baked.
Pensions and Health: A Cruel Cut
Pensioners, a vulnerable group, have not been spared either. With 66.34 lakh beneficiaries recorded last March, the state needed Rs. 32,000 crore annually. The budget, however, slashes this to Rs. 27,000 crore, with numbers already reduced to 63.59 lakh by February 2025. More cuts loom on the horizon.
The iconic Arogyasri healthcare scheme, a brainchild of the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, faces a silent death. Once a lifeline for the poor, it’s now being handed over to insurance companies amid whispers of scams, leaving public health in jeopardy.
Legacy of broken bonds
Before the elections, Naidu’s candidates distributed literal bonds printed with assurances of a better tomorrow. Today, those papers are relics of a campaign built on hollow words. From Rs. 10 lakh subsidies for startups to Rs. 1 lakh wedding gifts, Rs. 10,000 honorariums for volunteers to fuel price controls, none finds a place in this budget. Even the price stabilization fund, once Rs. 3,000 crore under the YSRCP regime now limps at Rs. 300 crore.
Promises Reduced to Zeros
The “Super Six” manifesto, a cornerstone of the coalition’s election campaign, promised transformative welfare schemes to uplift women, youth, farmers, and marginalized communities. Yet, the budget allocations for these key cash-based initiatives paint a grim picture:
1. Free Bus Travel for Women – Rs. 000
A promise that resonated with millions of women across Andhra Pradesh, aimed at easing their daily commute, has been left unfunded; another deadline missed, another hope dashed.
2. Rs. 1,500 Monthly Stipend for Women – Rs. 000
Pitched as a game-changer for women’s financial independence, this Rs. 18,000 annual pledge per woman has vanished into thin air, leaving households in limbo.
3. Rs. 3,000 Monthly Unemployment Allowance – Rs. 000
The youth, promised Rs. 36,000 annually to tide over joblessness, find themselves staring at a blank slate no funds, no support.
4. Pensions for BCs at Age 50 – Rs. 000
A vow to provide Rs. 48,000 annually to Backward Classes (BCs) starting at 50 has been quietly ignored, betraying a key voter base.
5. Chandranna Bima (Insurance Scheme) – Rs. 000
Once a lifeline for the poor, this insurance scheme has been relegated to oblivion with no budgetary backing.
6. Rs. 15,000 Annual Aid for Auto, Taxi, and Lorry Drivers – Rs. 000
Drivers who toil daily on Andhra’s roads were assured financial relief, but the budget offers them nothing.
7. Rs. 10,000 Monthly Stipend for Junior Lawyers – Rs. 000
Young legal professionals banking on this support to kickstart their careers have been left high and dry.
8. Kapu Welfare (Rs. 15,000 Crore) – Rs. 000
The Kapu community, a significant electoral force, was promised Rs. 15,000 crore for welfare initiatives yet not a rupee has been allocated.
9. Rs. 1 Lakh Wedding Gift – Rs. 000
Families dreaming of state support for marriages have been handed a cruel reality check: zero funds.
Erasing Jagan’s Legacy
Adding salt to the wound, the budget has buried the welfare schemes of former CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy initiatives like YSR Cheyutha, YSR Aasara, YSR Kapu Nestham, and Nadu-Nedu, which transformed education and healthcare. These programs, meticulously implemented in Jagan’s first year, are now memories, replaced by a void that has left beneficiaries stranded.
The YS Jagan Contrast
As discontent brews, people can’t help but recall Jagan’s tenure. Within his first year, he rolled out nearly all promised schemes, ensuring every eligible citizen benefited. Today, Andhra’s citizens contrast that efficiency with Naidu’s year-long inertia, no new schemes launched, existing ones halted, and a budget that admits defeat on its own manifesto.
The Verdict
The 2025-26 budget stands as a monument to unkept promises and a “full-fledged” plan that fails to deliver on even the smallest commitments. For a state that trusted in “Babu Surety,” the guarantee has proven to be one of unrelenting deception. As Andhra Pradesh stares at this fiscal reality, the question echoes: Will the people forgive, or will they demand accountability for this breach of faith?
