Punjab: Two days to polls, no Congress manifesto yet

Even with just two days left for Punjab to go to polls, the ruling Congress is yet to release its manifesto. While senior party leaders are worried over the delay, sources in the party said the manifesto may be released online on Thursday. As Punjab goes to polls on February 20, campaigning will come to an end on Friday.

Concerned over the delay in the release of the manifesto, senior Congress leaders asked “what are they waiting for” and “why was the committee for the election manifesto even formed?”

“It seems that they have no clear vision and only announcements are being made. They are only focusing on their internal fighting,” said another leader requesting anonymity, adding that Sidhu is giving his own model and Channi is announcing his own freebies but all these must be included in a formal vision document called “manifesto”.

At a time when the party is facing both anti-incumbency and tough competition from its rivals, all senior party leaders are busy campaigning in their respective constituencies and announcing popular schemes.

Meanwhile, Congress’s manifesto committee head MP Partap Singh Bajwa on Thursday told The Indian Express that the party may release its manifesto first online and then Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi will release it in print the same day.

“They asked me to come to Chandigarh for its formal release on Thursday but now with campaigning ending on Friday, I am very busy in my constituency and cannot afford to spare time to go to Chandigarh,” Bajwa said.

Last month Bajwa and PPCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu held a press conference and discussed Sidhu’s most advocated ‘Punjab Model’, which they claimed will change the entire scenario in the state.

Bajwa had also supported Sidhu’s 13 points and said that these points would be the part of the party’s election manifesto and more points will be added.

Sidhu had batted for the formation of ‘Jitega Punjab Commission. This commission will be the mind of the government and work as ‘principal policy advisory’ and ‘think tank’ which will advise each department of the government and even give policy advice to the MLAs. Sidhu also promised to run the Punjab Assembly for at least 100 days in his vision document.

A party senior leader said that even CM Channi had announced several freebies recently that could be part of the manifesto but still a formal document is needed.

Channi’s freebies included Rs 1,100 per month to women, slashing of power prices to Rs 3 per unit, sand prices to Rs 4 per cubic feet, capping of cable charges at Rs 100 per month, one lakh jobs to the youth within a year, free mobile data to the students, 8 free LPG gas cylinders annually etc.