BJP to release Delhi-specific manifesto, ‘full statehood’ unlikely to find mention

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari on Monday said, “We will bring a sankalp patra (manifesto) for Delhi. There are several issues like pollution, water, electricity tariff, liquor shops, development works in the city among others, which the present government in the city has failed to deliver on.

Like in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit will release a Delhi-specific manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections. But full statehood, which was one of the main poll promises in that manifesto, is unlikely to find mention this time.

Delhi BJP’s working committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday to prepare a plan for the Lok Sabha elections, which are scheduled on May 12, in Delhi. (HT PHOTO)

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari on Monday said, “We will bring a sankalp patra (manifesto) for Delhi. There are several issues like pollution, water, electricity tariff, liquor shops, development works in the city among others, which the present government in the city has failed to deliver on. We will focus on these issues. We will work on redeveloping the Yamuna Riverfront.”

In 2014, the party had said that it will work towards getting full statehood for Delhi. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made this its key election issues to attack the BJP. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has been hitting out at the BJP for not delivering on its poll promise, even burning the manifesto last month.

Tiwari had, on March 30, said that Kejriwal was the “greatest enemy” of the full statehood issue.

Meanwhile, Delhi BJP’s working committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday to prepare a plan for the Lok Sabha elections, which are scheduled on May 12, in Delhi. The party plans to run a positive campaign on the work done by the BJP-led central government in the last five years. Tiwari said that the BJP has done several works despite not being in power in the city. “We got major road infrastructure projects approved to improve traffic situation in the city,” said Tiwari.

Tiwari said, the party will highlight the issues on which the AAP government has failed to deliver on. “They (AAP) have been depriving people of the benefits of various central government schemes such as Ayushman Bharat, 10% reservation to the economically weaker section etc. We will highlight these issues,” said Tiwari.