Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Ambadas Danve on Friday dubbed the Maharashtra budget presented by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar as "political hypnotism" and claimed regions like Marathwada and Vidarbha did not get anything.

"The state has announced so many schemes but there is a doubt about its implementation. This is more of 'political hypnotism'. After today's budget speech, it is clear that the government doesn't consider regions of Marathwada, Vidarbha as part of Maharashtra. The government will impose heavy taxes on the people through the committee formed for systematic implementation of schemes," Danve, a top Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, said in a post on X. Mahesh Tapase, chief spokesperson of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, accused the government of financial mismanagement and highlighted that debt burden of the state has crossed Rs 7 lakh crore. He questioned the feasibility of budgetary provisions given the debt burden and said the government had no strategy to attract business investment and reduce unemployment. The populist but hollow promises would not sway the people ahead of the elections, Tapase added. Danve's colleague and Osmanabad MLA Kailas Patil said the budget was just a damage control exercise after the reverses the ruling alliance faced in the Lok Sabha polls. He said demands of complete farm loan waiver had been ignored, while the promise of free electricity is ineffective since farmers are not getting supply in the first place. Industrialist Ramchandra Bhogale criticised the budget for "freebies", adding that "giving everything free can help the parties in power to win elections, but this will sink the state". Maharashtra State Bank Employees Federation general secretary Devidas Tuljapur said the need of the hour was relief for farmers, especially by way of loan waiver, but this issue was ignored in the budget.