Petrol, Diesel in GST? Anti-State Policies? Prashant Kishor Predicts the Shape of Modi 3.0 Government Post-June 4

While the opposition is claiming that there is an atmosphere against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, political analyst Prashant Kishor has claimed that Modi will be coming to power. He has predicted 303 seats for the NDA. He also predicted that Modi will become Prime Minister for the third time and some predictions on how the Modi 3.0 government will look like. 

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Kishor has made a big prediction that petroleum products may be brought under the purview of GST in Modi's third term. It has been in demand for the past few years. The prices of petrol and diesel have skyrocketed. This has led to higher inflation. Currently, petroleum products like petrol, diesel, ATF, and natural gas are out of the purview of GST. These still come under VAT, central sales tax, and central excise duty. 

If petrol and diesel are brought under GST, states will have to depend on the Centre for this tax. This is why states are opposed to it. Currently, petroleum products are taxed at more than 100 percent. The highest tax slab in GST is 28 percent. This will cause a huge loss of revenue to the states. 

At the same time, Kishor has predicted that the rights of states could be curtailed. The economic autonomy of states can be curbed. He also said there could be structural and functional changes in the Modi government's anti-corruption stance. 

What will be the role of the states?
The Centre may delay the distribution of resources to the states. Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) rules could be tightened. This could lead to several restrictions on states' borrowing, Kishor said. Kishor also predicted that India's strength in dealing with geo-political problems will increase.

No party to get 50 percent of the votes
"The opposition had three different and realistic possibilities to stop the BJP's chariot, but they missed opportunities due to laziness and wrong tactics. No party will get 50 percent of the votes and in 2019, the BJP also got around 40 percent votes." Kishor said the BJP will benefit in Bengal, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh, while it will also become the number one party in Odisha and West Bengal.