 "Karnataka BJP star campaigner")
With the Karnataka Assembly election date approaching, political parties are giving their best to shift the mood of the voters in their favour. Parties across the political spectrum have a busy schedule as they plan to hold large rallies and road shows.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its manifesto on Monday. The document was unveiled by the BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda in the presence of Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai and former CM and Lingayat leader BS Yediyurappa.
BJP Manifesto and promises
1. BJP's manifesto said that they will set up 'Atal Aahara Kendra' in every ward of every municipal corporation to ensure availability of healthy food in the state. Additionally, the manifesto said the 'Poshana' scheme will be launched to give every BPL household 500 ml of Nandini milk everyday along with 5 kg of Shri Anna.
2. The manifesto promised to upgrade the state's education system. To this end, schools, ITIs will be given support to help the youth get employment. It also talked about providing financial support to aspirational students who want to join the IAS, KAS, among others.
3. BJP's poll promises include strengthening of public healthcare infrastructure by establishing Namma clinics in every ward of municipal corporations.
More From This Section
Earlier, in a conversation with The Economic Times (ET), BJP national secretary CY Ravi had said that we are not leaving any constituency. BJP has deployed a 98-member team of central BJP leaders which includes senior leaders like Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, and Dharmendra Pradhan. The team is expected to cover all 224 seats in the upcoming days. In addition to this, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath and PM Narendra Modi are also conducting road shows as a show of strength.
Congress released its manifesto on Tuesday. The manifesto was released in Bengaluru in the presence of Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge.
Congress Manifesto and promises
1. Congress promised to increase reservations for Veershaivas, Lingayats, Vokkaligas, Muslims, and SC/ST, if voted to power. It should be noted that the maximum reservation can not be more than 50 per cent but an exception can be made under special circumstances.
2. Congress announced an increase in milk subsidy from Rs 5 to Rs 7 under the KsheerDhare scheme. The party also promised to provide an interest free loan of up to Rs 3 lakh for purchase of cows, buffaloes.
3. Congress also promised to act towards completing the recruitment of 250,000 vacant government posts in the state within a year. The party promised to reinstate the Old Pension Scheme in the state.
4. Following the AAP model of subsidies, Congress also promised 200 units of free electricity if voted to power.
In hopes to attract voters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to campaign in Chitradurga, Vijayanagar, Sindhnaur, and Kalaburgi.
Kalaburgi North Assembly Constituency has been a stronghold for Congress. PM Modi's campaign in the constituency is an effort to sway voters towards BJP.
Earlier, commenting on BJP's manifesto, Congress has called it "BJP's moneyfesto." In direct attacks at PM Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has asked questions like "What did you do to stop corruption in Karnataka?" Rahul Gandhi also said to PM Modi, "The elections are not about you."
Talking about BJP's policies, Congress chief Kharge has used words like "snake" and "nalayak" (useless) for PM Modi.
Giving it back to the Congress, Home Minister Amit Shah has said that whenever Congress uses such language, love for BJP goes up. CM Bommai has also said that the people of Karnataka will teach a lesson to those calling PM Modi useless.
As things stand, BJP has 113 seats in the Karnataka assembly. Whereas, Congress has 74 members in the poll-bound assembly. JDS has 27 seats. In total, the Karnataka assembly has 224 seats.
