UP Results: Big biz happy to see return of business-friendly Mulayam

New Delhi: Business appears a bit relieved about the exit of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) from Uttar Pradesh after the recent state assembly election.

Industry chambers see the Samanjwadi Party as more business-friendly. Not just sugar companies, but industry is looking forward to a stable industrial environment going forward.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Director General Chandrajit Banerjee has expressed the hope that the SP’s clean sweep will enable the new government to take the necessary bold measures for the development of infrastructure and industrial clusters in the state. “The industry looks forward to fast-pacing ongoing and upcoming projects and stability in the economic situation.”

The President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), RV Kanoria, echoed the CII’s sentiments. He told Firstpost that “the past record of the SP shows that under it industry performed better in Uttar Pradesh”.

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[caption id=“attachment_236641” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Samajwadi Party (SP) President, Mulayam Singh Yadav, front, and General Secretary of the party and son Akhilesh Yadav, center, leave their residence. AP”]  [/caption]

Kanoria said all that businessmen wanted was continuity in policy and a stable political environment. “Stability will go a long way in ensuring business growth,” he said. UP is the largest manufacturer of sugar in India and sugar manufacturers have already welcomed SP’s return to power after a gap of five years. Kanoria said that the sugar industry needs only one thing from the Government - it should walk out of the industry by decontrolling sugar prices. But he offered no comments on the change of guard in general, and whether this would help bring investment in infrastructure.

Given SP’s pro-sugar industry stance in the past, Vivek Saraogi, Managing Director of Balrampur Chini, told CNBC-TV18 that he expects policies to promote the sugar industry, even though no revision in the minimum support price of sugarcane is possible for the current season (prices have already been fixed by the outgoing Bahujan Samaj Party).

Uttar Pradesh is the biggest producer of sugarcane in India. Ahead of the polls, the BSP government raised prices to Rs 250 per quintal from Rs 210 despite significantly higher sugarcane production in 2011-12.

On the Akali Dal-BJP combine’s return to power in Punjab, CII’s Banerjee said this would ensure continuance of development initiatives. “Stability in government would enhance confidence of the Industry and herald new investments. Our expectation from the government would be that the economic imperatives are paid adequate attention to and the reform process is fast tracked. A key area of focus would have to be infrastructure, since it plays a major role in the economic revival and sustained growth of the state.”