 "Arun Jaitley holding his budget briefcase as he arrives in Parliament on budget day. Photo: Reuters")
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s fifth and final Union Budget of the current term of the Narendra Modi government was evidence that the top BJP leadership has drawn the right lessons from its tenuous poll victory in Gujarat in December.
In Gujarat, the BJP had to face the ire of farmers for agrarian distress, of youth for lack of job opportunities and of the MSMEs (the micro, small and medium enterprises sector). The Budget has reached out to these key sectors.
The middle class, a strong support base of the BJP, is likely to be disappointed that no significant tax exemptions
