India’s Narendra Modi faces an early test to his third term in office as the prime minister prepares to unveil a budget that must balance the demands of new coalition partners while putting forward an economic vision that reinforces confidence after an unexpected election disappointment.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party was re-elected to a historic third term in June but unexpectedly lost its parliamentary majority, forcing the prime minister to depend on two regional “kingmakers” to see off a resurgent opposition.
Those allies, the Telugu Desam party from southern Andhra Pradesh and Janata Dal (United) in northern Bihar, are demanding billions of dollars in financing for their states ahead of the government’s first budget, which will be delivered on Tuesday for the financial year ending March 2025.