Cong-NCP tries to outdo Sena-BJP on poll promises

However, in broader terms, the Congress-NCP manifesto is not very different from that of the saffron alliance, be it a memorial for Chhatrapati Shivaji, silence on the Vidarbha issue or sops for farmers. The only two sectors where the Congress-NCP has laid emphasis are agriculture and infrastructure. A series of proposals have been outlined to cover issues.

The manifesto seeks to outdo the one released by the Opposition. It promises to regularise slums or unauthorised constructions built in Mumbai till 2000. The Sena-BJP had unveiled plans to construct pucca houses for 40 lakh slum-dwellers (who arrived in the city prior to January 1, 1995).

While the Sena-BJP has promised to install a statue of Shivaji at Raigad, the Congress-NCP plans the construction of a memorial in the Arabian Sea, on the lines of the Swami Vivekananda memorial in Kanyakumari.

The Congress-NCP has also promised women 33 pc reservation in state jobs as against the Sena-BJP’s assurance of 25 pc. Shinde said the DF has already provided jobs to 1.37 lakh youth by filling the backward class backlog in government jobs. ‘‘If we can do that, we are confident of providing one crore jobs as well,’’ he said.

But it has chosen not to commit on job quotas in the private sector. ‘‘We’re in the process and things are being finalised in consultation with industries,’’ Shinde said.

The Congress-NCP, like the Sena-BJP, has maintained silence on Vidarbha. ‘‘The demand for a separate state couldn’t be included as we’ve come out with a joint manifesto,’’ said Congress general secretary Margaret Alva.