Election Manifestoes : Glue or Scissors

Are we sharp enough to see divisive promises in the manifestoes

E leanor Roosevelt - the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, once said, “Pit race against race, religion against religion, prejudice against prejudice. Divide and conquer! We must not let that happen here.” Indian voters from every strata must not only take note of this wise sermon, but also implement it where it is needed at least. There can not be a better opportunity to exercise the lesson other than the epic Lok Sabha polls of 2024 in the largest democracy of the world - India.

When there is an election in India, it is much more than a festival. Entire machinery gets actively involved in the process and outcome. This makes it a perfect pudding for political parties and then they launch a fat document of practical, genuine, and tall promises named - The Manifesto. The election manifestos of major Indian political parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress cover a broad spectrum of topics and make diverse pledges aimed at appealing to various voter segments of society.

These manifestos detail the parties' policies and strategic priorities, should they gain power. However, its interpretation largely depends on individual viewpoints. Nevertheless, independent media must also help readers see through the bulky documents and decipher the fine prints in such documents of promise.

With utmost honesty we put together our interpretation of the two big fat manifestos, which may in agreement or otherwise with the reader's thought process, this very thing is the beauty of democracy. Peaceful co-existence of divergent views.

Below we have listed some of the important points mentioned in the BJP election manifesto:

Cultural Integration: The manifesto includes initiatives to promote India's cultural and historical heritage, highlighting the shared values among India’s diverse population.
Economic Development: The party advocates for stimulating economic growth through significant investments in infrastructure, business, and industry, which it suggests will generate employment opportunities nationwide.
Guarantee of service, good governance and poor welfare in the coming five years
Free ration, water and gas connection and zero electricity bill from PM Suryaghar for the next five years.
Ayushman Bharat will continue to provide free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh.
Permanent houses for middle class families, expansion of health services
National Education Policy will be implemented, every citizen will get high quality education.
Will host the Olympics in 2036
There will be lakhs of employment opportunities for the youth through infrastructure, investment, manufacturing, high value services, startups and tourism and sports.
Under Nari Tu Narayani, further 3 crore lakhpati didis will be created. Will implement Nari Vandan Act.
Will provide new opportunities by connecting women self-help groups with the service sector.
Will pay special attention to cervical cancer, breast cancer and osteoporosis in women.
Toilets will be built for women in public places.
Will try to increase the income of farmers from seed to market.
Will establish Shri Ann towards super food.
Will protect the land through nano urea and natural farming.
Will develop agricultural infrastructure.
Boat insurance for fishermen, fish processing units, and timely information through satellite will strengthen all these.
Will encourage fish farmers to cultivate sea-weed and pearls.
Gig workers, migrant workers, taxi drivers, truck drivers, auto drivers, porters and domestic workers will get the benefits of welfare schemes by linking on e-Shram.
Modern facilities will be built for truck drivers on the highway.
India will give official certification of Yoga.
Will take India’s culture to the world through Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centre.
Arrangements will be made for the study of classical languages of India in higher educational institutions.
Will declare 2025 as the Year of Tribal Pride.
Eklavya School, PM Janman will promote value addition and eco-tourism in forest products.
Will give respect to OBC, SC, ST communities in every sphere of life.
Guarantee of making India a global manufacturing hub.
Work will be done on mission mode for urban housing, transportation, water management, clean air, garbage disposal and clean water.
Ramayan festival will be celebrated all over the world. Ayodhya will develop.
Will expand 5G network technology, work on 6G
There will be more strict action against corruption.
The mantra of Perform, Reform, Transform will be applicable in every area of governance.
Indian Judicial Code will apply.
Along with One Nation, One Election, there will be a system of common electoral role.
Vishwakarma for a prosperous India – Guaranteed to provide skill training, credit to MSMEs and small traders and link their production to the market.
Guaranteed to make India the third largest economic power in the world.
New tracks will be added to the railway. New Vande Bharat, Amrit Bharat and Namo Bharat trains will arrive.
World class stations will be built, the problem of waiting lists will end in the coming years.
Feasibility study of bullet train corridor will start in North, South Eastern India.
The development journey will continue in the North-East. Preparation of master plan according to the special needs of every coastal, island and hilly area.
India will become a leader in space, artificial intelligence, quantum, semiconductor, green hydrogen, electric vehicle technology.
Will achieve self-sufficiency in the energy sector by 2047. Will reduce petrol import.

On the other hand, Key Highlights of Congress Election Manifesto 2024 ‘Nyay Patra’:

Inclusivity and Diversity: The Congress manifesto prioritises inclusivity, with policies designed to protect the rights of minorities and marginalised communities.
Decentralisation: It advocates for greater decentralisation, proposing more autonomy for state and local governments to enable them to address local issues more effectively.
Social Welfare: The focus here is on social welfare programs targeting poverty reduction, access to healthcare, and educational reforms to foster equitable growth across different societal layers.
Right to apprenticeship, a legal guarantee for MSP, and passing a constitutional amendment to raise the 50 per cent cap on reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs are among the promises made by the Congress in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls.
Ten per cent quota in jobs, educational institutions for EWS will be implemented for all castes, communities
The manifesto focused on five “pillars of justice” (Yuva Nyay, Naari Nyay, Kisaan Nyay, Shramik Nyay and Hissedari Nyay) with 25 guarantees under them.
Appealing to people to look beyond religion, language, caste and choose wisely to install a democratic government, the party said the general elections present an opportunity to radically change the style of governance that has been in evidence over the past decade.
Passing the ‘Right to Apprenticeship Act’ to provide one-year apprenticeship to every diploma holder or graduate below age of 25.
Legal guarantee to Minimum Support Prices (MSP)
Immediately restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood
Scrapping the the Agnipath Scheme
The Rajasthan model of cashless insurance of up to Rs 25 lakh will be adopted for universal healthcare
National minimum wage will be Rs 400 per day
Launch of the Mahalakshmi scheme to provide Rs 1 lakh per year to every poor Indian family.
Scrapping contractualisation of regular jobs in govt, PSUs and ensuring regularisation of such appointments.
Filling nearly 30 lakh vacancies in sanctioned posts at various levels in the central government.
As India logs in into the seven-phased Lok Sabha polls beginning on April 19, the threadbare of the two big manifestos becomes imperative.
Divisive points in both the manifestos… Interestingly, points that divide the voters speak similar language in the documents of two opposing political parties. And largely, if one sees, they also superimposes on the religion division, while points in BJP’s manifesto shows little tough stand for one particular set of voters, Congress’ manifestos seems to be little soft on that particular set of people and by doing so, it might be taken as hard stand for the set of people that BJP is trying to woo.
Ramayan festival will be celebrated all over the world.
Ayodhya will develop.
Indian Judicial Code will apply.
Immediately restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood
Scrapping the the Agnipath Scheme
Other than these few points, by and large the two manifestos promise similar offerings in terms of economic development, launch of social welfare schemes, better coverage of basic facilities healthcare, education, sanitation, potable drinking water, and job creation. The two traps are quite tempting, and the hapless voter has to decide which

Way to go.

An American author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays, Joseph Heller, says, “When I look up, I see people cashing in. I don’t see heaven or saints or angels. I see people cashing in on every decent impulse and every human tragedy.”

By Alok Sharma
(The content of this article reflects the views of writers and contributors, not necessarily those of the publisher and editor. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only)