Himachal Assembly Election: Congress promises 1,50,000 jobs, BJP focuses on skill development

In order to cut across the women vote in the state, Congress in its documents has promised to set up working women hospitals in districts, raising the marriage grant for the daughter of windows to be raised to Rs 1 lakh.

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Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh with the supporters at his residence in Shimla. (Source: PTI)

Farmers, youth and women’s safety seem to be the top focus of the BJP and the Congress as Himachal Pradesh goes to polls for the 68-seat assembly on November 8. The results of the election will be declared on December 18. Both the parties have released their manifestos and promised a slew of schemes to woo the voters. In a break from the past, BJP president Amit Shah declared Prem Kumar Dhumal as the party’s chief ministerial candidate. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh will lead the Congress campaign as the party seeks to regain power in the hill state.

Here’s what Congress and BJP have promised.

For farmers

In its attempt to impress farmers, the Congress manifesto promised 90 per cent subsidy for crop protection, providing interest-free loans upto Rs 1 lakh and decentralisation of power in the panchayat system. The Congress also promised to connect all villages in the state with roadways for easy transport of goods and produce. The BJP, on the other hand, promised facilities for farmers to double their income by 2022, which include subsidiary schemes and installation of anti-hail guns. The Congress manifesto, however, did not mention the issue of forest mafia in the state. On the other hand, the BJP manifesto promised to set up a 24X7 helpline to act against forest mafia and a joint task force to check illegal mining.

For youth

To tap the youth voters, the BJP focused on steps to improve skill development and create avenues for employment. The Congress manifesto promised the creation of 1,50,000 jobs in a span of five years along with distributing laptops to 50,000 students. Merit scholarships for higher education in India and abroad would be provided to Schedule Tribe youths, the Congress promised in its manifesto. BJP too has provision for distribution of laptops and free Wi-Fi at educational institutions. Congress in its documents said that it will give Rs 350 per day to workers under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), regularisation of contract workers in two years and regularisation of outsourced employees in government jobs.

Transparency in government

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On the lines of the BJP documents which talks about setting up Lokayukta to tackle corruption in the system, the Congress manifesto too promised setting up of a grievance commission under its ‘zero-tolerance policy’ on corruption. In a bid to increase transparency in government processes, BJP in its document also promised that all government tenders will be made online, along with making effort to raise income sources of the government and bringing in foreign investments.

For veterans

The Congress manifesto focused on veterans of the armed forces and promised to raise the issue of One Rank One Pension (OROP) with the central government if they come back to power.

For women

In order to cut across the women vote in the state, Congress in its documents has promised to set up working women hospitals in districts, raising the marriage grant for the daughter of windows to Rs 1 lakh. In its manifesto released by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, BJP promised to launch a ‘Gudia Yojana’ to check crime against women. Gudia is the name used to refer to a 16-year old school girl who was raped and murdered in Kotkhai in July.