In his term, Bahmani came up with differing estimates of inflation compared to Ahmadinejad, with the former giving 14 percent and the latter 25.4 percent from 2007 to 2008. After the figures became part of the political dispute between Ahmadinejad and his rival Mir Hossein Mousavi in the 2009 Presidential election, Bahmani threatened to resign if his estimations were disputed.