The BJP is set to unveil its ‘Sankalp Patra’ (manifesto) for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on Sunday at its party headquarters in Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior party leaders will be present at the event, coinciding with the birth anniversary of Baba Saheb Ambedkar, a towering leader from the Dalit community and an architect of the Indian Constitution.
The manifesto will focus on ‘Garib’ (poor), ‘Kisan’ (farmer), ‘Yuva’ (youth), and ‘Nari Shakti’ (women power) under a politically coined acronym of ‘GAYN,’ in addition to ‘Swasthya’ (health), ‘Shiksha’ (education), and ‘Sashaktikaran’ (empowerment) as the 3S, are among the prominent resolutions likely to feature in the BJP’s manifesto.
The theme of the manifesto will be “Modi’s Guarantee: Developed India 2047,” with a focus on cultural nationalism. According to party sources, the party pledges to fulfil only those promises that are achievable.
As the BJP Government has fulfilled most of its core ideological promises, including the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and the repeal of Article 370, all eyes will be on how the ruling party’s larger cultural and Hindutva agenda figures in the manifesto. Sources hinted that the BJP may include some special resolutions on ‘Garib Kalyan’ (poor welfare) and ‘Bharashtachar-mukt’ (corruption-free), citing what Modi had outlined in the 2019 manifesto.
The BJP had appointed a manifesto committee headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh that 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.
The BJP has received over 1.5 million suggestions for its manifesto, including more than 400,000 through the NaMo app and over 1.1 million through videos.
An election manifesto is a comprehensive declaration of a party’s policies, objectives, and proposed actions if they come into power that serves as a roadmap for voters to understand the party’s stance on various issues.
Political parties release manifestos to communicate their agenda, priorities, and proposed solutions to societal challenges. Manifestos also hold parties accountable post-election. Voters can refer back to the promises made and assess if the party fulfills its commitments, promoting transparency in governance.
Meanwhile, the Opposition party, the Indian National Congress, has already released its manifesto titled “Nyay Patra.” Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi have highlighted 25 guarantees to the public, with a key promise to provide annual financial assistance of Rs100,000 to the poorest women in families.
The upcoming general elections in India are scheduled to take place from April 19, 2024, to June 1, 2024, to choose the 543 representatives for the 18th Lok Sabha.
Around 970 million individuals, out of a total population of 1.44 billion are eligible to take part in the elections. The legislative Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim will coincide with the general election. Additionally, there will be by-elections for 35 seats across 16 States.
In 2014, BJP stormed to power by winning 282 seats in the Lok Sabha. Its coalition NDA secured 353 seats. The Congress was reduced to just 44 seats in the Lok Sabha, its lowest ever tally in history. In terms of vote share, BJP managed to secure 31 per cent of the total votes while Congress won 19.3 per cent of the total votes cast.
In 2019, the BJP improved its tally even further, winning 303 seats in the lower House. It was the first time in over three and a half decades that a party managed to cross the 300-seat mark in the Lok Sabha elections.
With the census and delimitation exercise likely to be held on the watch of the next government, political watchers are keeping an eye on whether the BJP will touch on issues like concerns of southern states over the delimitation exercise. The party is likely to underline its support for the "one-nation one-election" idea, sources said.
