Will the middle class meltdown over the budget hurt the BJP politically?

Nripendra Chauhan is furious that the Modi government’s latest Union Budget has increased taxes on capital gains. The 38-year-old who runs a security guard agency in Noida is unhappy that his income from selling stocks – or capital gains – will now incur higher taxes. Over the last four years, Chauhan said he had invested more than Rs 6.5 lakh in equities.

“It is always the middle class that gets squeezed,” he said. “The poor are getting free rations and the rich have their finances sorted anyway. We are the ones who have to bear the burden of taxes and do not get anything for free either.”

Chauhan identifies as a supporter of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Yet, he blamed the government for undermining the interests of the “taxpaying middle class”.

This sentiment is not uncommon. After the Budget announcement on Monday, many have expressed their disappointment on social media. On Twitter, people expressed anger about taxpayers being “looted”, criticised the prime minister for being “detached from the middle class” and pointed out that the salaried class had higher tax rates than the corporate sector.

The discontentment in this section is significant because the BJP has been the popular choice among urban, affluent Indians, who are often called the middle class, even though they are among the top 5%...

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