With urban and rural bodies’ elections nearing, Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma Wednesday pitched the 2026–27 state Budget as a mid-term report card of his govt and a political roadmap aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision. Addressing a press conference after the Budget presentation in the Assembly, Sharma said the document aimed at “holistic and sustainable development” and described it as “a document of our duty towards 8 crore people of the state.”
Responding to Opposition criticism over the Rs 550 crore allocation for repair and maintenance of 2,500 state govt schools—against an estimated requirement of nearly Rs 20,000 crore for more than 41,000 schools—Sharma defended the govt’s phased funding approach. He said school infrastructure strengthening could not be completed in a single Budget and called it a “continuous commitment,” adding that education spending had risen by 35% compared to 2023–24.
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In a key regional announcement, Sharma said the govt had proposed Rs 32,000 crore worth of works to bring Yamuna water to the Shekhawati region, calling water security central to Rajasthan’s future and the project a “historic step.” The move is seen as politically significant in Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhunu, where the BJP lost all Lok Sabha seats in 2024. On youth employment, Sharma said the state had already provided over 1 lakh govt jobs, with recruitment for 1.54 lakh posts underway, reiterating the promise of 4 lakh jobs. He said the proposed Rajasthan State Testing Agency (RSTA) would conduct transparent, technology-driven recruitment examinations, positioning it as a response to public anger over paper leak controversies and an assurance to aspirants of fair hiring. The govt’s messaging around the Budget combines regional outreach, infrastructure expansion, youth employment and phased social sector spending as it seeks to consolidate its development narrative ahead of the local body polls.
