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Journalism of Courage
Four days before Chhattisgarh votes in the first phase of the Assembly elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday announced the BJP’s election manifesto. Barring a few promises that are exclusive to the Congress — such as a loan waiver for farmers and free education from kindergarten to post-graduation — the BJP manifesto matches several promises of the ruling party and goes above and beyond on several others.
The manifesto highlights the top 20 “Modi guarantees”. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel taunted the BJP posting on X, saying, “Till two days ago, the BJP was terming as freebies whoever promised the same things . They have made some of the promises made by us.”
1. The BJP has gone a step further than the Congress by offering 21 quintals of paddy per acre at Rs 3,100 in a single instalment, unlike the ruling party which gives it in four instalments. The Congress has so far offered to procure 20 quintals of paddy at Rs 3,000. However, it is still ahead of BJP as they have promised a loan waiver to farmers like in the last election when around Rs 9,500 crore was waived. Called the “Dhan ka Katora (bowl of rice)”, the state has 27.07 lakh registered rice and lakhs of labourers and people involved in its processing and transportation work – a rough estimate of 90 lakh, in a population of 2.54 crore people.
2. An annual amount of Rs 12,000 for married women. The move is significant as the number of women who voted in the 2018 elections was almost equal to the number of men.
3. The party has promised to “expedite” the work of filling one lakh vacant posts in government. Though the manifesto does not provide a timeframe, Union Home Minister Amit Shah in his speech said two years.
4. A total of 18 lakh poor people will get Awas Yojna (housing scheme) benefits. The Congress recently announced 17.5 lakh people will get it. Shah targeted the Baghel government for deliberately failing to implement this Central scheme in his five-year tenure as credit would have gone to PM Narendra Modi. Another ambitious announcement is the promise to provide tap water in every house within two years.
5. Tendu leaves will be bought for Rs 5,500 per sack, which is a thousand rupees more than the present rate. Further, the number of collection days have been increased to 15 days. While Congress has announced Rs 4,000 bonus per year to families selling tendu leaves, BJP announced Rs 4,500 bonus. Tendu patta seen as “green gold” is a big voting factor for many tribes for whom there are 29 reserved seats. Their population is around 78.23 lakh.
6. Rs 10,000 to landless farmers, similar to an announcement Rahul Gandhi made at a public rally in Kawardha on October 29. Gandhi increased the price from Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000 after speaking to a farmer.
7. A promise of free health service up to Rs 10 lakh and 500 more centres for subsidised medicines. The Congress too made an almost identical announcement recently.
8. The BJP has announced it will probe the alleged Public Service Commission (PSC) scam. Another promise is to change the examination to a UPSC format. Baghel made a similar statement in an interview to The Indian Express recently.
9. To help youngsters run new businesses, a 50% subsidy will be provided along with an interest-free loan.
10. Providing a gas cylinder for Rs 500, just like Priyanka Gandhi recently promised in her speech on October 30.
Among other promises are developing four cities on the lines of Delhi-NCR, making an innovation hub, Rs 1.5 lakh fixed deposit to for newborn girls from families below the poverty line that they will receive after turning 18, and annual travel allowance to students.
