Bhopal: Seven rights -- to home, water, health, education, fertilizer, employment and minimum income -- and 59 promises, including five guarantees announced in May, were part of the Congress’ 106-page manifesto for Madhya Pradesh released on Tuesday, as the party continued to follow the template that worked for it in the Karnataka elections earlier this year, which it won.
The five guarantees are monthly allowance of ₹1,500 to every woman in the state, cooking gas cylinder for ₹500 every month, free bus service for women, and free electricity up to 100 units and at 50% between 100 and 200 units every month, and restoration of the Old Pension Scheme for government employees.
Other promises include ₹25 lakh health insurance for all households and ₹10 lakh life insurance for all households; an IPL team from the state (although the role of the state in a private sporting league is not clear; and the Indian cricket board has said that there will be no increase in teams from the current 10); and the purchase of cow dung from farmers at ₹2 per kg .
Madhya Pradesh goes to the polls on November 17, and the Congress is looking to unset the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has ruled the state for 20 years except for 15 months between December 2018 and March 2020. The financial impact of the promises wasn’t immediately clear but analysts said it could run into tens of thousands of crores.
{{/usCountry}}Madhya Pradesh goes to the polls on November 17, and the Congress is looking to unset the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has ruled the state for 20 years except for 15 months between December 2018 and March 2020. The financial impact of the promises wasn’t immediately clear but analysts said it could run into tens of thousands of crores.
{{/usCountry}}It’s turning out to be en electoral battle built around welfare and freebies in the state. The incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party-led government has announced pre-poll sops worth ₹80,000 crore in the past six months including a monthly allowance ofRs 1,250 to every woman eligiblein the state and a cooking gas cylinder for ₹450 each to poor families.
Releasing the 106-page manifesto named ‘Vachan patra’ , state Congress president and former chief minister Kamal Nath also announced that if elected, his governmenmt would conduct a survey of all poor people in the state to ensure no one was left behind and also a caste survey to enhance welfare measures to castes as per their proportion in the state’s population. With a cry of “Jitni Aabadi Utna Haq” (right as per population proportion), Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has sought a national caste census in a bid to woo the Other Backward Class (OBC) vote and fragment the BJP’s vote.
“The promises in the manifesto are in addition to the promises made in the manifesto released for 2018 assembly elections that the then Congress government was already implementing,” he said. The Congress in 2018, promiseda farm loan waiver, a MSP of ₹2,500 per quintal for paddy, and 10,000 cow shelters.
Nath also said that he would like to see an IPL team in Madhya Pradesh and that if elected, his government would reward sportspersons who win medals in international competitions.
The manifesto also promises farm loan waivers of up to ₹2 lakh, and a handout of ₹1500 to ₹3000 per month for two years to unemployed young people. It also includes a provision of ₹500 to ₹1500 per month to students of standard 1 to 12 that was announced by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi at a public meeting in Mandla last week.
Other points in the manifesto include the filling of 2 lakh government posts, the provision of ₹1.01 lakh on marriage of each girl from poor family, ₹2.51 lakh to girls from their birth to marriage under Meri Bitiya Rani scheme, an increase in social security pension from ₹600 to ₹1200 per month, and promotions for government employees. The manifesto also reflects Congress’ soft Hindutva agenda and says construction of Ram Van Gaman path (the route Lord Ram is believed to have taken through the state) will be completed and work on Sita Mata Mandir in Sri Lanka will be resumed.
Reacting to the manifesto, state chief minister and BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “It’s not Congress’ Vachan patra but Mahajhooth patra (bundle of big lies). Kamal Nath spoke of more than 900 promises 5 years back but didn’t implement even nine of them. However, people don’t trust Congress and they know BJP fulfils its promises-- those spoken of and even those not mentioned earlier. Congress will not be able to mislead people.”
Political analyst Dinesh Gupta said, “Congress has tried to corner BJP in context of the freebies through its manifesto but the moot question remains how these promises can be fulfilled without taking further loans. Debt taken by the state government from various agencies has already crossed ₹3 lakh crore. Further loans and increase in VAT and taxes is bound to add to the burden on common man’s pocket.”