With barely five days left for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections to get underway, the incumbent BJP is releasing its poll manifesto on Sunday morning, which is expected to showcase its plank of vikas (development), welfare and Hindutva besides a roadmap for “Viksit Bharat” (developed India).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president J P Nadda and other senior party leaders will attend the unveiling of the manifesto, “Sankalp Patra”, at the party headquarters in Delhi on a day marking the birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution and a towering leader from the Dalit community.
As the BJP government has fulfilled several of its core ideological promises, including the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the scrapping of Article 370, it will be closely tracked on how the party’s larger agenda of cultural nationalism figures in the manifesto.
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The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) issue, which remains a work in progress for the BJP with the party pushing it in some of its states, may also feature in the manifesto.
The BJP’s pledges for youth, women, farmers and the poor — four “castes” in Modi’s formulation – are expected to be among the highlights of its poll document.
The BJP had appointed a 27-member Manifesto Committee headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for drafting the document, which met twice to deliberate on its contents after the party had launched multiple exercises, including vans sent across the country and social media campaigns, to seek people’s suggestions.
With the census and delimitation exercise likely to be held on the watch of the next government, observers would keep an eye on whether the BJP will touch upon issues like concerns of southern states over the delimitation exercise.
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On April 5, the principal Opposition Congress had released its manifesto, titled “Nyay Patra”, promising a raft of promises to woo the marginalised, such as lifting the 50% cap on quota for SCs, STs and OBCs in addition to reservation in private educational institutions.
The Congress has pledged steps to create jobs, hoping those would strike a chord with the youth, even as it has offered cash doles to women besides promising to reserve 50% of central government jobs for them. It has also promised a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for farmers’ crops.
President on Ambedkar Jayanti
President Droupadi Murmu greeted citizens on the eve of Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, calling upon all to adopt his ideals and work collectively for the inclusive development of the country.
Babasaheb Ambedkar, a pioneer of social change and a versatile personality, made exceptional contributions to our country and society as a jurist, educationist, economist, social reformer and political leader, she said.
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Ambedkar’s strong belief in the constitutional system is the foundation of our democracy and good governance, the President said.
AAP Stir
The AAP’s Delhi minister Gopal Rai said the party will observe “Samvidhan bachao, tanashahi hatao divas” on Ambedkar Jayanti.
The AAP workers will read the Preamble of the Constitution and an oath to save the founding document of the country, Rai said.
The minister alleged that the BJP-led central government was “attacking our democracy and Constitution”.
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Rai said the AAP’s event will be held at the party offices in the state capitals across the country.
He said the programme is being held on the advice of Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, who has been in judicial custody in Tihar jail in connection with the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy case.
PM campaign in MP, Karnataka
PM Modi will address a rally at Pipariya town in the Hoshangabad Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh Sunday.
“We are fortunate that the Prime Minister is coming to MP on the occasion of B R Ambedkar Jayanti. His arrival will fill us with energy, enthusiasm and new strength in the current election period,” said MP CM Mohan Yadav.
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Hoshangabad will go to polls in the second phase on April 26.
During the day, the PM will also campaign in Karnataka, addressing a rally in Mysuru before holding a roadshow in Mangaluru.
The Congress-ruled Karnataka is going to the Lok Sabha polls in two phases. While 14 seats in the southern parts of the state will vote on April 26, the remaining 14 constituencies in its northern parts will vote on May 7.
With PTI inputs
