Bharatiya Janata Party, on Friday, released its manifesto ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections. The BJP manifesto was launched by BJP state President and the party’s chief ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa. It is the first time in history that a party has approached the people before elections inquiring of their demands. BJP’s manifesto could also be termed as the people’s manifesto as it was prepared after consulting more than three lakh voters from Karnataka. This unique process of making manifesto could set the precedent for upcoming elections with many more parties following suit. Under PM Modi’s leadership and guidance of party president Amit Shah, BJP has started changing the way in which the election game was played. The focus has been shifted from crowd pleasing to impactful deliverance and Congress once again seems to be at a loss. BJP’s Karnataka manifesto in itself is enough to make laughing stock of the Congress.
The Congress manifesto released earlier spoke about how it would create 14 lakh new jobs in the upcoming five years while it had created 50 lakh jobs during its term. Rahul Gandhi has time and again shown “genuine” concern for how the job market in India had been depleting under BJP’s rule in the centre. Siddaramaiah should have at least sat down with Rahul Gandhi in the same room before deciding upon what to include in the Congress manifesto. The lack of any mention of the everyday worsening conditions of law and order in the state was another huge disappointment for the once Congress supporters. The cure to alarming conditions of law and order in Karnataka where Lokayukta P Vishwanatha was stabbed in his own office in March 2018, did not find any mention in the ‘promises’ of Congress. The murderer of innocent RSS members and many other right wing workers in the state is not enough to wake up the sleeping Congress. The only time when Congress acknowledges a death or harm caused to a person is when the person belongs to its voter base, anyone and everyone else is expendable. The free reign given to Popular Front of India (PFI) goons in Karnataka, the plan of Siddaramaiah to release ‘innocents’ facing charges of communal violence from the jail prior to the elections is Congress’ modus operandi of maintaining law and order in the state. What more could be expected of Siddaramaiah who allegedly had asked prison officials to provide ‘special amenities’ to AIADMK leader VK Sasikala while she was serving time in the central jail. Congress thrives on lack of law and order and to achieve this, the Anti-Corruption Bureau was created in Karnataka. ACB was under the state government and it served the dual purpose of putting the power to target political opponents in Congress’ hands while reducing the powers of the Lokayukta’s office.
Sadly, the Congress manifesto had little to no mention of giving power back in the hands of the Lokayukta. The numerous instances of rape, murder and crimes against Dalits in Karnataka did not matter to the Congress. How can there be any chances of a remedy when Congress leadership including Rahul Gandhi and Siddaramaiah are not even ready to acknowledge their faults? Congress’ manifesto is so far away from the needs of the common public that it could be termed as a list of Congress’ aspirations rather than that of the people of Karnataka.
The BJP manifesto released today promises help to farmers, increased possibilities for students and job seekers and of eradicating other pressing problems of the society. Canteens which will provide quality food at low prices for the people, target coaching for competitive exams for students who come from the marginalised sections of the society, are some of the other salient features of BJP manifesto. BJP has already shown through CM Yogi Adityanath’s reign in UP that it is a farmer friendly party. The loan waiver of humongous proportions in UP will be replicated in Karnataka as well. All these are not just empty words but promises which will be fulfilled when BJP comes to power in the state post the elections in May. The BJP manifesto is a shining example of what happens when voters are included in the policy making. The connectivity of the BJP leaders with the public of Karnataka is visible at all the BJP rallies. The manifesto has further shown that the connectivity is not limited to just presence at the rallies. BJP has shown that it cares for Karnataka residents and is eagerly waiting for a chance to serve the people. Congress, if it could learn anything, should learn a thing or two from the manifesto of BJP. The knowledge so earned would be enough to fill the minds of its ‘dynamic’ and ‘experienced’ leaders.