New Delhi, February 2: Reacting to the populist Budget rolled out by the Narendra Modi government days ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, former Prime Minister and Congress leader Manmohan Singh said the fiscal policy will have an "obvious impact" on the elections. He further alleged that the government has not worked on expenditure in the interim Budget.

Manmohan's reaction came in the backdrop of a much-awaited tax rejig announced by Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, along with a first-of-its-kind income-based support scheme for farmers with landholdings of less than 2 hectares. Budget 2019: Sops For Farmers + Tax Relief to Middle Class = Another Term For Narendra Modi?

Speaking to reporters, the banker-turned-politician's critiqued the government's final pandora's box in a single-line, saying, "It's an election Budget."

On being asked whether the farm and tax sops will prove to be a game-changer for the ruling BJP, the ex-PM said the schemes were announced with polls in sight. "In these circumstances of the case, concessions to farmers and concessions to middle class will obviously have implications in the election," he was quoted as saying by NDTV.

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Goyal, while presenting the Budget before a joint sitting of the Parliament, rolled out the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi - a scheme which guarantees Rs 6,000 per annum to every farmer with less than 2 hectares of landholding. The amount will be paid in three installments -- with the first to be credited in the accounts of eligible farmers in the next few days. The project's cost has been estimated as Rs 75,000 crore, and the date of implementation has been fixed as December 1, 2018.

For the middle class, a major relief came in the form of tax exemption, as the limit has been raised from Rs 2,50,000 to Rs 5,00,000. The upward push in the exemption limit will have a cascading effect, with experts claiming that those earning between Rs 6-12 lakh will annually save nearly Rs 13,000.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 01, 2019 04:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).