The Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) second budget session is turning out to be a game of one-upmanship between the government and the Opposition who have made accusations and allegations against each other. Providing for developmental expenditure in today’s annual budget would be a tough task for the MVA when a depleting state coffer is again threatened by a rising number of COVID-19 cases, after a year of pandemic-induced economic backlash. Riding high on the ruling disposition’s economic difficulties, the Opposition has been trying to blame the MVA for the mismanagement of the pandemic in particular and the state of affairs in general. Certain cases of law and order, which, to the misfortune of the government, cropped up during the session and ahead of it, have given the BJP a shot in the arm. 

A Shiv Sena minister’s resignation over allegations of abetment of suicide of a girl was dealt with before the session began, but a mysterious death of a person in the Ambani bomb scare case remains to be a wild card for the Opposition. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his associates in the MVA have been equally aggressive in fending off the Opposition, bringing the game to a match point. The future developments would decide whether the game results in a stalemate or throws up a winner.