Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday, 14 November released the first episode of his social media video series 'Budget Files', mounting a data-backed challenge against the Bhajan Lal Sharma-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government over its implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission in Rajasthan. The episode, titled 'Case No 1', focuses squarely on the gap between the state government's budgetary promises on tap water connections and what Gehlot alleges has been delivered on the ground.

The Core Allegation: Promises vs Delivery

Gehlot cited official figures to argue that the BJP had promised during the 2023 Assembly elections to provide tap water connections to every household by 2025. Following that, he said, the state government announced a target of 25 lakh new tap connections in its February 2024 Budget, followed by another target of 20 lakh connections in the 2025 Budget — a combined commitment of 45 lakh connections.

Against that figure, Gehlot alleged that the BJP government had delivered fewer than 14 lakh connections over nearly three financial years. According to data presented in the video, he said the government provided 9.44 lakh tap water connections in 2024-25, 2.71 lakh in 2025-26, and approximately 79,000 to 89,000 connections in the current financial year up to October.

Congress Record vs BJP Performance

Drawing a pointed comparison, Gehlot claimed that his own Congress government had provided 13.88 lakh tap water connections in 2022-23 alone — a figure he argued exceeds the BJP government's cumulative total of 12.95 lakh connections across the three financial years cited. The comparison is designed to directly counter Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma's 'Two Years vs Five Years' campaign slogan, which the BJP has used to benchmark its governance against the previous administration.

Scale of the Shortfall

Gehlot further alleged that approximately 44 lakh rural households in Rajasthan remain without tap water connections. At the current pace of delivery, he warned, it could take more than 30 years to cover the remaining households — a claim that, if accurate based on official data, would represent a significant policy failure on a flagship national scheme. He accused the BJP-led state government of laying only a 'pipeline of statistics' through budget announcements, while actual water supply remained out of reach for millions.

What 'Budget Files' Signals Politically

The launch of Budget Files marks a structured opposition campaign by Gehlot, who has framed each episode as a 'case' against the current government's budgetary credibility. This comes amid broader national scrutiny of Jal Jeevan Mission implementation across states, with several audits flagging discrepancies between reported connections and functional household water supply. Gehlot's data-led approach is notably different from conventional political attacks, signalling an attempt to shape the narrative ahead of future electoral cycles in Rajasthan.

Government's Position

The Bhajan Lal Sharma government had not issued an immediate public response to the specific figures cited in the episode, according to available reports. The BJP administration's 'Two Years vs Five Years' framing has been its primary counter to Congress criticism, asserting that two years of governance cannot be compared to a full five-year term. Whether the government responds formally to the data points raised in Budget Files will likely determine how the series shapes public discourse in the weeks ahead.