Petrol Prices: Below Rs100 In BJP-Ruled & Above Rs100 In Non-BJP States

In an unprecedented manner, petrol in 15 states and three Union Territories is being sold at less than Rs 100. And all these 15 states are ruled by the BJP and its allies. Petrol price in Andhra is 110.45, Telangana 108.25, and Tamil Nadu 100.43. Karnataka, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh are the only BJP-ruled states where petrol still costs more than Rs 100 despite heavy cuts by the Centre and state.

Just a day ahead of Diwali, the Centre announced rate cuts on petrol and diesel prices. With this move, the central levy on petrol and diesel was cut by Rs 5 and Rs 10. In the second week of July, the fuel prices had touched the Rs 100-mark almost the entire nation. Overall, 23 states and UTs have undertaken a commensurate reduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel to give relief to consumers.

The states/UTs which are selling petrol below Rs 100 are Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Haryana, Assam, Chandigarh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Puducherry.

The states/UTs which have not undertaken any reduction in VAT on petrol and diesel are Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Andaman and Nicobar. All these states are ruled by non-BJP parties.

Among the states which have announced the sharpest cut in fuel prices are Karnataka, Puducherry and Mizoram, where the petrol price per litre has come down by Rs 12.62 and Rs 13.35. It is observed that there have been variations in the cuts in different states as the rate of VAT is not levied on the same base. Some states charge the vat on the base price of fuels and others include the central excise in the base price for levy of VAT.

In Delhi, with the AAP government not backing up the Centre’s price cut, the reduction in petrol price was Rs 6.07 and that on diesel was Rs 11.75. In Congress-ruled Rajasthan, petrol prices dropped by Rs 6.35. For diesel, Chennai saw a reduction of Rs 11.16 per litre and the price for petrol was reduced by Rs 5.26.