Gurugram: When Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini delivered his budget speech in the Haryana assembly Monday, it was also a political performance, carefully calibrated for a cross-border audience.
The CM walked into the assembly wearing a ‘kesari (saffron)’ turban, donned in the style of the Punjab’s Sikhs, to present Haryana’s Rs 2,23,658.17 crore budget—a 10.28 percent increase from last year.
He opened his speech not with fiscal targets, but with the Sikh principle attributed to Guru Nanak Dev Ji. “Kirat kar, Naam jap, Vand chhak (earn honestly, remember God, share with others)”.
He then invoked Sant Ravidass, a 15th-century Bhakti saint with a substantial following among the Scheduled Caste population, particularly the Ravidassia community that has a prominent presence in the Doaba region.
Among the announcements he made, Saini announced 50 electric buses to religious destinations in Punjab, such as Amritsar—famous for its Golden Temple—and the airports of Delhi and Chandigarh.
The Haryana Budget had numbers, but the symbolism in Saini’s speech had coordinates, and they pointed to Punjab, which is going to the polls in early 2027.
The BJP has never won the state on its own, though the Sikh voters and the Ravidassia communities, together, constitute a formidable electoral bloc.
A pattern
Monday’s optics were not a one-off event, those watching over Saini’s movements over the past several months say.
The Haryana CM has been conspicuously active in Punjab, visiting gurdwaras, attending Ravidassia congregations, and meeting community leaders in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, and Amritsar.
The BJP, stung by its poor showing in the 2022 Punjab elections, when it could win only two seats, has been grooming Saini as a potential face with cross-community appeal, party insiders say.
Speaking to The Print on condition of anonymity, one of Saini’s aides in the CMO confirmed that the BJP’s central leaders asked the CM to spare two days a week for Punjab until that state holds elections.
Saini previously visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar, paid obeisance at Anandpur Sahib, and has been photographed at Ravidassia deras on multiple occasions. Each visit of personal devotion was covered by the media.
The invocation of Sant Ravidass Monday carried particular political weight. The members of the Ravidassia community—followers of the Adi Dharm traditions—revere Sant Ravidass as their primary religious figure and number in the millions in Punjab.
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring did not miss it either.
Taking a sharp dig at Saini, Warring remarked that, judging by the CM’s enthusiasm for Punjab’s religious geography and community politics, perhaps Saini might be preparing to contest elections from Punjab, rather than Haryana.
The budget
Beyond symbolism, Saini’s budget was a document directed at Haryana’s domestic audience.
The Rs 2.23 lakh crore outlay, presented by Saini in his dual capacity as finance minister, packed in enough announcements to touch nearly every constituency.
For farmers, the incentive for desi cotton cultivation has increased from Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 per acre. Those abandoning paddy for pulses, oilseeds, or cotton will get an additional Rs 2,000/acre bonus over and above the Rs 8000/acre announced earlier—a nod to the long-running water table crisis in the state.
A new agricultural electricity body, ‘Agri Discom’, will be set up to provide speedy tubewell connections to farmers.
One lakh youth are to be trained in Artificial Intelligence and then placed in jobs, and a ‘Virtual AI and Digital College’ is to be launched. Further, all government schools will get double desks by Haryana Day on 1 November.
For women, the ‘Har Nari, Swasth Nari’ scheme promises health clinics in every district. Two thousand new Vita booths will be opened, with 20 percent of the seats reserved for women’s self-help groups.
On Monday, Saini’s infrastructure announcements included 21 new sports stadiums across 12 districts and ‘wedding cities’ in Gurugram, Kharkhoda, and Pinjore.
Fifty new electric buses will serve routes to religious destinations, like Amritsar, Haridwar, Katra, and Salasar.
A ‘Green Hydrogen Policy’ will be introduced, 2.2 lakh rooftop solar installations are planned, and 5,000 kilometres of roads are to be upgraded. A para-sports stadium with international facilities will also come up at Daultabad.
Additionally, the new district of Hansi is to be developed as a model district. Six new PWD guest houses will be built across the state. A 100-bed ESI hospital in Manesar will be upgraded to 200 beds with a new medical college attached.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)