Mayawati bursts Narendra Modi's economic growth myth

Pradeep Thakur, TNN | Oct 22, 2011, 02.24AM IST

NEW DELHI: Gujarat is the flag-bearer of economic growth in recent years and Uttar Pradesh a laggard turns out to be a myth. Both the states have more or less matched the national average over the last five years.

Among the six poll-bound states -Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Goa, UP and Gujarat - Uttarakhand and Punjab top the growth charts. Uttarakhand has seen its net state domestic product (NSPD) grow by 103% and Punjab has witnessed 86% growth as compared to Gujarat (79%), Goa (77%), UP (76%) and Manipur (51%). The Indian economy grew by 77% during this period.

UP's NSDP at current prices was pegged at Rs 2, 56, 000 crore in 2005-06. At the end of 2009-10, it had reached Rs 4, 53, 000 crore. The Mayawati-ruled state has performed on a par with Narendra Modi's Gujarat, which saw its economy expand from Rs 2 lakh crore in 2005-06 to Rs 3.70 lakh crore last year.

The BSP supremo has been able to keep pace with showpiece UPA-ruled states like Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh as well. The economic expansion in Maharashtra was 78% during this period, while Andhra Pradesh accounted for 79%.

Among the bigger states, the top three were all ruled by the Opposition. Bihar clocked 110%, Chhattisgarh (104%) and Left Front-ruled West Bengal matched Uttarakhand's 103%. Gujarat was ranked 12th among the the bigger states, taking sheen off Modi's tall claims.

UP's performance in raising the per capita income was also commendable. The per capita income of the state rose 64% in the five years till last year as against Gujarat (69%), Maharashtra (78%) and Andhra Pradesh (79%).

The growth in per capita income of BJP-ruled Uttarakhand has been the highest among poll-bound states at 91%, followed by Punjab (73%) and Manipur (40%). Instability in Uttarakhand and change of leadership made little dent in its economic expansion.

Despite the considerable improvement over the last five years, UP's per capita income remains at about half the national level of Rs 46,500 in 2010. Punjab at Rs 62,000 and Uttarakhand (Rs 55,800) are well above the national average. Ditto for Gujarat at Rs 63,900.